


Little Witch MOBA-demia

by PuddingEarl



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2019-10-24 10:33:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 141,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17702720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuddingEarl/pseuds/PuddingEarl
Summary: Since seeing her hero, Shiny Chariot, play Magical Burst for the Luna Nova Witches, it's been Akko's dream to play for the same team. Despite failing to meet any of the requirements for the team, the stars align, and Akko is uniquely positioned to be a great asset to the team. Unfortunately for her, an invitation to the Luna Nova team house is just the beginning of her journey to become a talented Magical Burst player.An LWA AU about a dumb made up MOBA. The game is an awkward mishmash of League of Legends and Dota 2 concepts. The Witches, predictably, are very gay.More pairings to be added to the tags as I decide on them.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Everyone!
> 
> Thank you for checking out my first work in the LWA fandom. After reading thespectralbones LEA fic and the anonymous Little Pilot Academia I really wanted to write something myself. People always say write what you know, and I know esports, so here we go. To those of you who are fans of SC2, you might recognize some of the casters. I really hope I did them justice. And also the actual characters people care about I guess.
> 
> Thanks for reading! I'll be posting a bit slowly at first, as I've got another fic in progress that I need to finish up, but since that one has a schedule, I'll work to get ahead of the curve, then sneak in some work on LWM. Each chapter after the prologue will also have a bio on one of the heroes in the game, so everyone can understand and predict what's going to happen at a similar rate to how Akko learns about the game.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy! As with everyone, comments are my lifeblood so please tell me what's good, what's trash etc.

**Prologue**

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko swung her legs idly as she stared in awe at the stage before her. She'd seen plenty of matches before, but today was her first time attending a live event. There was something different about being here in person. The air thrummed with a faint energy that the television just couldn't capture. The crowd murmured softly, discussing the match that was about to begin. The chatter came to an abrupt halt, as the lights dimmed, and the energy in the room intensified.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome back to the Magical Burst Grand Finals!” One of the casters began to introduce the event. Akko buzzed with excitement, losing track of what was being said. It wasn't important. They always talked about boring things before the matches started.

Her attention was drawn back to the stage when the first team entered, but it wandered away again when she realised who it was. She watched idly as the team of three walked onto the stage, waving and bowing as the crowd cheered for them. They made their way over to the line of computers waiting inside a booth, and settled down.

“And now, introducing their rivals in this match, the Luna Nova Witches!” The caster shouted. The crowd went wild, as three girls walked onto the stage, waving. Two of them wore the regular purple Luna Nova uniforms, but the team captain strode out confidently in a bright white variation of it, red hair flowing behind her as she waved enthusiastically to the crowd. Akko's eyes lit up as she took in the sight of her hero. Shiny Chariot. The Luna Nova team made their way into the booth opposite their opponents, and settled in to their seats. The other two witches removed their hats, but Chariot kept hers on. Akko couldn't help but grin at the display of confidence.

“So, we'll be beginning the draft real soon, and while we wait for that, who's your favourite to win this one Wolf?” One of the casters asked.

“Luna Nova is looking really good right now. They've got their captain in Shiny Chariot, she only plays one Hero, but she plays her amazingly well. And then her team mates are so versatile, it's going to be tough to counter them.” Wolf replied. “What do you think Khaldor?”

“I think you're absolutely right there Wolf. Luna Nova is looking incredibly strong right now, and it's on their opponents to answer them. The question we all have to ask ourselves today is can they beat the Moonlit Witch? Can they handle all of the raw versatility she brings to a match? Because if they can, they can win this. If you can shut out Shiny Chariot, you have won this match. Guaranteed.” Khaldor replied. Akko pouted. Chariot wasn't going to get shut out. She was going to win. She always won.

“Well, it looks like the draft is getting under way. Let's see what the pre-ban picks are.” Wolf announced, as the attention turned to the screen. To no one's surprise, Luna Nova's first pick flashed up on screen. The Moonlit Witch. Akko grinned. She'd finally get to see Shiny Chariot play in person!

 

 

 

Shiny Chariot danced back and forth in lane. She'd been laning against her opponent, playing Gruul, a large monster of a Hero, for the better part of five minutes. They were both just a few minions shy of level 6, where Gruul suddenly got a power spike.

“With just two more minions killed, Gruul is going to hit 6, and when that happens, the Moonlit Witch is going to be in a lot of trouble.” Khaldor announced. Akko clenched her fists. What was Chariot doing? Why wasn't she going for a kill?

“But hold that thought Khaldor, it looks like Chariot on Moonlit Witch still has a trick up her sleeve!” Wolf declared. On the large screen hanging over the stage Akko watched as Chariot switched forms. The Shiny Rod of the Moonlit Witch changed from a bow, into a grappling hook. The moment it finished, Shiny Chariot burst into action. She launched the grappling hook at one of the walls of the lane, latching on and zooming to the side, around the minions.

Gruul noticed what was going on, and started to move into his minions for cover. He was too late. The grappling hook shot out again, this time grabbing him and pulling him in close. The moment he landed, Chariot changed forms again. The grappling hook reformed into an axe, and the Moonlit Witch slammed it into the ground, throwing Gruul into the air as a wall of rock formed between him and safety.

Gruul turned, and went to fight, activating his auto attack steroid. This close, he'd easily make short work of the Moonlit Witch. Chariot didn't seem remotely worried however, as she changed forms once more, reforming the Shiny Rod back to it's default state, and blasting a wave of energy to send herself over the wall she'd made, separating her and Gruul. There she made her final transformation, back to the bow form she started in.

What followed was a series of auto attacks, chipping away at Gruul's health as he turned, and fled. The steroid was still active, boosting his move speed as well, and he quickly managed to disengage, slipping towards the Luna Nova tower, headed for an exit to the lane. He was almost out of vision range when Chariot activated the final blow.

The Moonlit Witch pulled the bow back dramatically, a large arrow forming in her hands as she did so. From inside the booth, Shiny Chariot's voice could be heard faintly.

“SHINY!” She shouted. The crowd, including Akko, shouted alongside her a half second behind. The spell went off.

“ARC!” The crowd cheered in sync with Chariot. The arrow was loosed, flying through the fog and impacting Gruul in a small green explosion. The damage was just enough to kill him, giving Chariot First Blood of the finals.

Even with the hype dying down around her, Akko couldn't imagine being more excited. Seeing this in person was better than anything she'd ever done before. Even though the match had only just started, she knew without a sliver of doubt. She wanted to be a Luna Nova Witch when she grew up.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I was planning on updating on Sundays, since that's when I started posting this, but since I just finished chapter two, I figured why not just post them whenever the next one is ready? That way, you can all spend needless amounts of time refreshing your bookmarks to see if I updated, just like I do with everyone else's amazing fics. Please send help.
> 
> Every chapter, including this one, will have one hero summarized in it's post-chapter notes, so you can learn what to expect from everyone. Also since I'm throwing around a lot of MOBA terminology and people might not be familiar with it all, I'll throw some definitions up here. The very basics (lane/minion/tower/hero/etc.) I'm going to assume everyone either knows, or will benefit more from looking up. Or can just guess how it works, I suppose.
> 
> ELO - A number measuring how gud you are. Each game uses a different system, but generally sub 1000 is pure garbage, above 2000 is among the very best, and the majority of players sit 1250-1500.
> 
> Feeding - Intentionally dying to give the enemy team resources.
> 
> Main - The primary hero a person plays
> 
> One-Trick - Someone who can only play one hero. Usually an insult.
> 
> Ladder - A catch-all term referring to playing ranked.
> 
> Uh...I think that's everything? If I missed something that you don't understand throw a comment down below and I'll answer any questions!

**\---URSULA---**

 

**Name:** Atsuko Kagari

 

**ID:** Akko

 

**Current ELO:** 1140

 

**Highest ELO:** 1363

 

**Preferred Role:** Solo Top

 

**Teammate Response:** 68% Negative

 

**Positive Responses:** 84% Positive Attitude, 16% Sportsmanship

 

**Negative Responses:** 63% Feeding, 32% Unskilled, 5% Unspecified

 

**Cover Letter:**

Hello! I'm Atsuko Kagari, but you can call me Akko! I've been playing Magical Burst since I was 9 years old! I started playing because of my hero, Shiny Chariot! I want to join the Luna Nova Witches so I can become just like her! I've been practising to play the Moonlit Witch for as long as I can remember. Since she was rotated out I've been practising with her in custom lobbies! I'd really love it if I could join, as being a Luna Nova Witch has been my dream since I was little!

 

* * *

 

 

Urusla stared at the application in front of her. There was no way she should accept this application. Her highest ELO was dated back to nine years ago, when the Moonlit Witch had last rotated out of competitive play. She shouldn't accept this application. None of the other coaches would accept this application. She'd have to coach Atsuko herself if she approved her.

Ursula scrolled down to the match history. The ranked history did not look good. Atsuko had only played one match each month. Her hero picks were seemingly random, and her scores were consistently abysmal. The fact she was reported for feeding only 63% of the time seemed generous to Ursula. The scores looked like the kind Ursula would expect to see from a troll account. Her eyes wandered over the other history tabs, taking in the game count on each. There was a little over 100 ranked games, dating back 9 years, and only a few more custom lobby 3v3s. However the 1v1 match history numbered an impressive 5244. Ursula clicked over to check how it looked.

She was greeted with a wall of green. It was occasionally interrupted by a red block, representing a loss, but for the majority of her recent matches, Akko had won. Her stats weren't particularly good in each game, but the sheer volume of success was staggering.

Ursula opened one of the matches, and started watching through it. Akko's performance wasn't amazing, but she was competent enough. She had a decent build sorted out for the Moonlit Witch, and she switched between the forms readily. She occasionally went for big plays, and pulled them off cleanly. Unfortunately her fundamentals were rather weak. Her creep score was always behind her opponents, and she exposed herself to harassment too often. But she never fell so far behind that she couldn't pull it back in a fight, and Ursula suspected she had a keen instinct for when to go in.

 

Sadly, despite her talent for the Moonlit Witch, Ursula couldn't approve her for just one hero that wasn't in rotation. She closed out of the replay, and scrolled down to the bottom of the application, hovering her mouse over the reject button. She took a moment to drum up the courage to click it.

She was interrupted by a knock at the door. Ursula jumped, and her mouse drifted to the side as she clicked, missing either button.

“Oh, um, yes? Come in!” She called out. The door creaked open, and the team owner, Miranda Holbrooke walked in. “Oh, Miss Holbrooke, what can I do for you?”

“Are you done going through the applications yet Ursula?” Holbrooke asked. Ursula shook her head.

“Not yet ma'am. I should be done very soon though. I got a little caught up on this application, I'm sorry.” Ursula explained sheepishly.

“It's quite alright. We've received word on the rotations this year.” Holbrooke announced. “I wanted to give you the list so you could review your decisions with it in mind. It would be a shame to accept someone as their heroes all rotate out.” Ursula nodded.

“Of course ma'am, thank you very much!” She replied, jumping to her feet and shuffling around her desk. Holbrooke handed her the paper and Ursula looked down at it. Her eyes widened as they stopped on the first line.

“The Moonlit Witch is rotating back in?” She asked. Holbrooke nodded.

“I was surprised too. It seems that she's not very popular anymore, and no one really knows how to play with her. It doesn't help that the meta has shifted away from generalists.” Ursula paused, thinking about Akko's application again.

“I um...I have an idea I'd like to run by you.” She said softly.

 

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko looked up at the Luna Nova team house that stood before her. It was massive, more like a school than a house. Akko looked down at her letter of acceptance one more time, reading over the instructions for what to do when she arrived. She was supposed to find her coach, Ursula, who would be waiting for her in the lobby. She looked at the building again. Where was the lobby? She'd just have to look around until she found it, she decided.

The fact she'd been accepted was still surreal. She knew her ELO wasn't particularly impressive, but she'd hoped her solo record would be enough to carry her through. Despite that, she didn't know if she'd even be able to play in this season. Her main hadn't been available in competitive play for the past 8 years. She still didn't know if she'd be able to play this season, as the rotations hadn't been made publicly available yet. For all she knew she might've just been picked as a back up.

The Luna Nova Witches were a fairly large team, taking in several new teams of 3 each season to train them up. The whole team counted over 50 players. A lot of them were picked just to provide practice partners for the star teams, or to serve as reserves on existing teams to snipe particularly difficult match ups. If Akko had been picked up for that purpose, it would really suck.

The trip to Luna Nova had been exhausting. The team house was located in England, which required a 12 hour flight from Tokyo to get to. Then she had to wait a few hours for a train out to Glastonbury, which took another 2 hours, and then finally a half hour bus ride out to the team house itself. Despite getting to sleep on the flight, Akko was looking forward to being able to sleep.

“Damnit O'Neil! How many times do I have to tell you to play for objectives?” Akko was snapped out of her thoughts by shouting across the room. She looked around quickly, taking in her surroundings. She'd made her way through the front door, and was standing in a room that looked an awful lot like a lobby.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Someone replied. Akko looked over to see a young girl, wearing the Luna Nova uniform. Or at least, a variation of it. She had short orange hair, and was standing in front of a teacher, with a rather lax stance, arms propped up behind her head. Akko took a step towards them. Maybe that teacher was her coach?

“Who's that?” Another voice sounded across the room. Akko turned to look. Two girls had just walked into the lobby. They were also wearing the Luna Nova uniform, though Akko noticed they had blue sashes, unlike the other girl's green.

“Are you new here?” The other asked. She had brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, and a rather smug look on her face.

“Yeah! I'm Atsuko Kagari! But you can just call me Akko!” Akko replied, taking a few steps forward and holding out a hand to introduce herself.

“Oh, you're that one.” The brunette remarked.

“Huh? Which one?” Akko asked.

“The bronze one.” The other girl, with black hair remarked. Akko flinched back a little. Her ranked score was pretty terrible, even she had to admit it, and she'd never managed to climb out of the bronze leagues. Luna Nova had an expectation that each member of it's team would have a platinum rank at minimum. Exceptions could be made with a recommendation, which Akko had obtained off some high ranked players who'd played custom games with her.

“I bet she's a one-trick too.” The brunette said.

“They probably picked her up to be moral support for the other teams. I could always do with an easy game or two to feel better after practice.” The other one continued, as they both started laughing.

“Don't either of you have anything better to do?” The orange haired girl from before asked, walking over to the group. “I think Cavendish might be missing her lapdogs, shouldn't you be off kissing her ass?” The two girls laughing came to an abrupt stop, and they scowled at the interrupting girl.

“We don't kiss her ass. We just support our team captain. Not that you'd know anything about supporting your team.” The brunette snapped, before they turned and stormed off.

“They're such bitches.” The orange haired girl declared, as she threw an arm around Akko's shoulder. “I'm Amanda, nice to meet you. Akko, wasn't it?” Akko nodded.

“Yeah! Nice to meet you too!” She replied. “Hey um, who were you talking to before?”

“Huh? Oh, that? That was Coach Nelson.”

“Oh, okay. I'm looking for my coach, Ursula. She was supposed to meet me in the lobby, but I don't see her around here.” Akko asked. Amanda snorted softly.

“That's because this isn't the lobby.” She replied.

“What?” Akko exclaimed. “Where is it then?”

“Come on, I'll show you.” Amanda offered, removing her arm and heading back for the door. Akko followed along behind her. Amanda lead her out of the building, and along the front a short distance, before stopping in front of much larger doors. “The lobby.”

“Where was I before?” Akko asked. Amanda shrugged.

“Dunno if it has a name. It's just a hall between the practice rooms. I don't even know how you ended up there instead of here.” Akko laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head.

“I uh...wasn't paying a lot of attention to where I was going.” She admitted.

“Well, you're here now. I've gotta get back to practice. See you around.” Amanda said, giving Akko a smack on the back.

“Thank you!” Akko called as Amanda walked off. Amanda raised a hand in acknowledgement. Akko turned back to the front door, and stepped inside.

“Oh! Miss Kagari!” A soft, polite voice drifted across the room as Akko crossed the threshold. A young woman with long blue hair stood off to the side of the room, wearing the Luna Nova coach uniform. She had her hand raised in a small, half wave. Akko waved back.

“Hello! Are you Coach Ursula?” She asked. The woman nodded. “Nice to meet you! I'm Atsuko Kagari, but you can just call me Akko!”

“It's nice to meet you too Akko. Are you tired? I don't think you've had a break since you left Japan.” Ursula replied. Akko paused. If she was being honest, she was pretty beat. But it was only midday.

“Uh, yeah, kinda.” She replied.

“Well, how about we get you to your room, introduce you to your new team, and let you get some rest. You can fix your schedule over the next few days.” Ursula suggested. Akko frowned, thinking it over.

“But, I wanted to get started right away!” She protested. Ursula smiled.

“Get started with what?” Ursula asked.

“Practising?” Akko suggested.

“They haven't publicly announced the hero pool yet. There's no point practising yet. But, we've heard that the season details will be announced in a few days. So until then, why don't you focus on getting used to England?” Ursula replied. It made sense, but Akko didn't want to just go to sleep after arriving at Luna Nova.

“Could I maybe see a little more of the team house before I go rest?” She asked hopefully. Ursula hesitated a moment, before sighing.

“Well, it can't hurt I suppose. But only the places you'll be practising.” Ursula conceded. Akko grinned.

“Thank you! So, where are we going?” She asked.

“We'll start with the scrim rooms, and then look at the practice rooms, section dining rooms, and finally the dormitory.” Ursula explained. “Would you like me to take one of your bags before we start moving?”

“Oh, yes please!” Akko said, shrugging a bag off her shoulder. She'd been carrying her two bags for so long that she'd forgotten she had them. She'd tried to pack light, but things had slowly drifted out of control. Ursula took the offered back, and gestured towards a doorway. The two set off, as Akko looked around, taking in the sight of the inside of the house.

It was unlike any house she'd ever been in before. The existence of a lobby alone was strange to her. It was, ultimately, a pointless room, containing nothing but a stairway to the next floor, a few chairs and some decorations. Doors led off the room in all sorts of directions. Akko couldn't see the point of such a room. The door Ursula led her to was directly at the back of the room. It opened out into a courtyard, with a sheltered walkway running around it. It contrasted sharply with the room they'd just left.

“Why is there a courtyard?” Akko asked.

“Well, Luna Nova wasn't always an esports team. For a long time this building was an academy for the elite. It's internal lay out was designed like a school, while the outside is built to look more like the mansions it's attendees would have been more comfortable with.” Ursula explained. Akko nodded. Ursula lead her around to a corner, in the direction that Akko had come from when approaching the lobby. She knocked gently, on a door, before cracking it open and peering inside.

“Okay, no one is practising.” She announced, as she swung the door open. “This is the scrim room.”

“What's a scrim?” Akko asked, as she followed Ursula in. The room was fairly basic in design. Two rows of decks, each with three computers faced each other. A few chairs sat behind each row of desks, and a white board occupied the far wall.

“It's a practice match.” Ursula replied. “So this room is where teams practice against each other to improve a part of their game. If you're having trouble with a particular match up for instance, we can put you against someone who is good at the hero you struggle with, and they'll help you learn how to handle them.”

“I think I get it now. But why is there a white board?” Akko continued. Ursula smiled at her patiently.

“It's to help with planning between matches. It's hard to tell you where to stand in lane for instance, so with the white board we can draw it out for you.” She explained. Akko nodded.

“Okay! Thanks Coach Ursula!”

“Shall we move on?” Akko nodded again, and the two stepped outside. Ursula closed the door behind her, and lead the way along the courtyard. They passed another two doors. One of them was cracked open, and Akko saw another scrim room through the crack. They came to a stop in front of the next door, and stepped inside. This room was similar to the last, but only had a single desk set up this time.

“This is the practice room.” Ursula explained. “If a team is practising on the ladder, this is where they would do it. Any questions?” Akko shook her head. The two stepped out again, and continued down the courtyard a bit further. As they passed the other practice rooms, Akko noticed a pair of double doors.

“What's that?” She asked, pointing to the doors.

“It's another exit into the yard.” Ursula replied. “It leads into a small lobby. You can go between practice rooms there, or head upstairs to the dorms.” Akko nodded. She was afraid it was the room she'd stumbled into before, and it seemed she'd been correct. Ursula paused. “It's actually a faster way to the dining room.” She conceded, turning back and stepping through the doors. As Akko followed her, her fears were confirmed. She was relieved that at least Amanda wasn't there. Ursula led her through a door, and up a flight of stairs to another hallway that overlooked the courtyard.

“This is where the dorms are located. Yours is further back, but first we'll look at the dining room.” Ursula announced. She showed Akko back down the hallway, and to an open door. It led into a much larger room than the previous ones. The far side of the room was a fairly simple kitchen. Closer there was three tables, each capable of seating four, laid out in a line. In front of them all sat another white board.

“This is the dining room. You can use it any time you like, but we have an evening meeting here each day at seven.” Ursula explained. “That won't start until the season is properly announced however. Would you like something to eat before you sleep?” Akko thought about it for a moment. She'd been starving when she got to Glastonbury, and had stopped to buy something to eat there.

“No thanks!” She replied. “I ate before I got on the bus.”

“Oh, of course!” Ursula said, laughing awkwardly. “Well, in that case let me show you to your room.” She led Akko back up the hallway. There were fewer doors on this floor. The first they passed was painted blue, followed by a green door, and finally a red door. They stopped at the red door, and Ursula turned back to Akko.

“This is your room, along with your team mates in the red team. We tried to make the best match for you, but if your team doesn't work out, we can shuffle the roster a bit to make a better match.” Ursula explained. Akko nodded.

“Got it! I'm sure we'll be best friends in no time!” She announced. Ursula gave her a weak smile.

“I have no doubt.” She replied, before knocking gently on the door. She opened the door slowly, and peaked inside. “Excuse me girls, your final team mate is here.” She called into the room, before opening the door and stepping inside. Akko followed her. To her surprise, she'd walked into a common room, not an actual bedroom. There was a small living room set up, with a TV and a couch. Further back in the room was small kitchen, and a door which appeared to lead into the bathroom. Two girls sat on the couch, watching something on TV.

“Akko, this is Lotte and Sucy.” Ursula introduced them. “Lotte, Sucy, this is-”

“Hi! I'm Atsuko Kagari! Nice to meet you!” Akko interrupted Ursula. “But you can all just call me Akko!”

“It's very nice to meet you Akko.” Said the shorter girl, standing up and approaching Akko. “I'm Lotte Yanson. I play support for our team. You're playing carry, right?” Akko nodded.

“Yeah! I main the Moonlit Witch, just like my hero, Shiny Chariot!” She announced. Lotte hesitated for a moment.

“You know that the Moonlit Witch hasn't been in rotation for years right?” The other girl, who Akko assumed was Sucy, asked. Her tone was almost flat, with only a slight hint of mockery in it.

“Yes! Of course I know that! I'm not an idiot you know. I've just been practising for when she rotates back in!” Akko replied defensively.

“I...think it's really good that you're positive about it.” Lotte said. “Um, who else do you play?”

“I uh...can't play anyone else.” Akko admitted sheepishly. “But it should be okay! She's been out of rotation for so long, she's got to be back this year, right?” Lotte sighed.

“I sure hope so.” She replied.

“Akko, why don't you drop off your bags and get some sleep?” Ursula suggested.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, of course!” Akko replied. Ursula nodded to one of the three doors around the room. Akko headed over and swung it open. The room inside was also quite spacious, with a bed and a desk, already set up with a computer.

“Do you need anything else before I let you go?” Ursula asked, as she lowered Akko's bag to the ground. Akko shook her head.

“No! Thank you Coach Ursula!” Akko replied. Ursula smiled at her.

“Get some rest.” She said. “I'll call you for dinner.” Ursula turned, and headed out, leaving Akko to her own devices. She dragged her bags into her room, and settled them down. She considered unpacking, but now that the excitement of the tour was wearing off, she had to admit she was tired. Akko collapsed onto her bed and grinned.

“I did it!” She announced to the world, before closing her eyes, and drifting off.

 

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

“Can you believe they actually let her join?” Hannah's voice carried through the dorm as she and Barbara entered.

“I know! I'm still not sure they didn't let the whole red team join as a joke.” Barbara replied. The two girls laughed. Diana stood up from her desk, and opened the door to her room.

“You can't believe they let who join?” She asked, as she walked into their kitchen and started the kettle for tea.

“Akko.” Hannah replied. “You know, the one in bronze?”

“Oh yes, her.” Diana answered shortly. She'd been very surprised when she read Akko's profile. Luna Nova had never had a player in gold before, let alone bronze. Diana had been curious about why she'd been allowed to join, and done a bit of research. Akko's match history was filled with 1v1s against fairly competent players, many of which she'd won. Diana assumed Akko had been recruited to serve as a practice partner. Though she could only play the Moonlit Witch, so Diana wasn't certain how much use she'd be.

“Luna Nova must really be struggling to find players if they let her join.” Barbara remarked.

“I don't imagine that is the reason.” Diana said. “She's likely just here to help people practice.”

“What can we possibly learn from beating her?” Hannah demanded.

“She plays the Moonlit Witch.” Diana began. “I can only imagine that the manager knows something about the line up for the next season.” Hannah and Barbara looked at Diana in shock.

“The Moonlit Witch?” Barbara asked. Diana nodded.

“She's been out of rotation for so long! Why would anyone play her?” Hannah exclaimed. Diana had asked herself that same question when she saw Akko's history. She had switched to one of her alts at the news, and played a custom game as the Moonlit Witch to try and understand the reasoning. Nothing stood out to her. The hero was clumsy and awkward, and her kit seemed to be fighting itself at every turn. The total absence of an ultimate ability was painful. That match had ended in a rare defeat for Diana.

“I suppose you'd just have to ask her.” Diana replied. The kettle came to boil, and she started to pour her tea. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a little more research to do. After that, we can play a few games, if you wish.”

“That sounds great!” Barbara said. Hannah nodded in agreement, and the two retreated to the couch to watch something. Diana picked up her tea, and retreated back to the computer. She had forgotten about Akko joining the team. After the shock of the news wore off, the girl had been chased from Diana's mind by a more pressing issue. The rotation. Most people were just waiting for it to be announced. Diana was a bit more proactive, and had been creating possible rotation line ups. There was a distinct pattern to it, that most people overlooked.

Each season contained 30 heroes. Of those 30, at least 15 had been in the past season, though that number sometimes was as high as 20. All heroes that had been rotated in last season remained in, so Diana knew the first 15. It was very rare that a hero who had rotated out last year was rotated back in, so that was another 15 Diana could reasonably discount. The remaining 15 slots would be filled to fit a specific mix of carry, support, assassin and jungling characters. 12 of them would be chosen to keep the balance relatively stable to the previous season, while the last 3 were considered wild cards. They were chosen specifically to shake things up.

Diana had spent the last week reviewing the entire roster, and had created what she believed to be an accurate representation of the coming rotation. With it, they could begin practising a few days early. Up until then, they'd only been making line ups using the 15 safe picks, and playing the Green team making similarly safe line ups. It was useful, but oppressive, in Diana's opinion. The conversation about Akko gave Diana pause however. She looked at the line up. The Moonlit Witch would, actually, make a lot of sense here. It had been so long since she'd been in that Diana had suspected she was going to be officially benched in a few years. But if that wasn't the case, she was a very reasonable selection. So she removed the wild card she'd been least confident in, and replaced her with the Moonlit Witch.

Diana opened the Magical Burst client, and pulled up Akko's match history. She skimmed through it, looking for recurring names. She found one, a player named “Boxer” who had played against her seven times recently. Akko had won five of those games. She opened Boxer's profile, and was surprised to find he was actually a master level player. She opened the messages, and started typing.

 

_DCavendish 12:24_

 

_Pardon my rudeness for messaging you like this. I recently joined Luna Nova, alongside Akko. I noticed you have played against her recently, and wondered if I could get your opinion on her. Thank you in advance._

 

_Boxer 12:25_

 

_Oh shit._

 

_Akko made Luna Nova?_

 

_That's sick!_

 

_Girl deserves it. Her Moonlit Witch is great._

 

_DCavendish 12:26_

 

_Why did you end up playing her? Her rank lists her as bronze. How did you come to start playing with her?_

 

_Boxer 12:26_

 

_Mutual friend. He said she was good for practice. She is. Her laning isn't great, but playing against her is like playing against 2 heroes at once._ _But they're both random, and you don't know which one you're against until you arrive in lane._

 

_DCavendish 12:26_

 

_I see. Thank you very much._

 

Diana sighed. That wasn't particularly helpful.

 

_DCavendish 12:27_

 

_Does she have any weaknesses?_

 

_Boxer 12:27_

 

_You guys on the same team?_

 

_DCavendish 12:27_

 

_No_

 

_Boxer 12:27_

 

_Ooooh she'd kill me if I told._

 

_So I didn't tell you this. Got it? :)_

 

_DCavendish 12:27_

 

_Of course._

 

_Boxer 12:27_

 

_Akko SUCKS at dealing with harass._

 

_Boxer 12:28_

 

_I never do it, since it feels cheap against her, y'know?_

 

_Like, I'm trying to practice against her fights, so I don't do anything to throw her off of doing that. But if you put some pressure on her she gets too worked up and goes in hard._

 

_Enjoy!_

 

_DCavendish 12:28_

 

_Thank you very much._

 

_Boxer 12:28_

 

_Lemme know how she takes it! Aight, gotta go, my queue just popped._

 

_DCavendish 12:28_

 

_GLHF_

 

Diana wasn't sure why she asked about Akko's weaknesses. It wasn't as if she was expecting to need to fight Akko properly. But something about Akko's record concerned her. A master player had lost 5 games to her. Diana didn't particularly want to deal with losing her first practice game against a bronze player. She was high diamond herself. Most people said she could be master if she bothered to put in a little more time on the ladder, but Diana preferred to play in pre-made teams, and that meant no increase in her individual rank. With Hannah and Barbara she had achieved high diamond in teams too, and they were pushing for master.

Diana took a sip of her tea as she thought about what to do for practice. She'd promised the girls they would play a few games, but she wasn't sure what would be better. They were close to master. If they tried, they could probably make it tonight. But that wouldn't do any good for the next season. The best thing to do would be to do a scrim with the green team to use the new roster. She didn't want to. But that was just her being childish and not wanting to deal with the green team. So she looked at her friends list. She spotted the green captain, Amanda, was already online.

 

_DCavendish 12:31_

 

_I have an idea for what the next season roster might look like. If you don't have anything else, I would appreciate if we could arrange scrims for today._

 

_NoCause 12:32_

 

_Dunno. Are your team mates gonna be bitches again?_

 

_DCavendish 12:32_

 

_What are you talking about?_

 

_NoCause 12:32_

 

_They didn't tell you?_

 

_DCavendish 12:33_

 

_No, but I'll tell them to behave. Are you available?_

 

_NoCause 12:33_

 

_Ugh._

 

_Sure._

 

_Whatever._

 

_See you in ten?_

 

_DCavendish 12:33_

 

_That sounds good. Room two._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hero Profile for the Moonlit Witch  
> Roles: Carry, Initiator, Escape, Pusher, Nuker, Durable, Disabler, Ganker
> 
> Abilities:
> 
> Claiomh Solais(Passive): The Moonlit Witch wields the power Claiomh Solais. It possesses the ability to change forms, granting the Moonlit Witch a new set of abilities. The Claiomh Solais current form is determined by the highest stat of the Moonlit Witch.
> 
> Rod Form - Achieved with high AP or Mana. The default form of the Moonlit Witch if no runes or items have modified her stats.  
> Concussive Blast(Q): The Moonlit Witch fires off a small bolt of magical energy. It strikes the first target it hits, dealing damage, and knocking them back. If the target impacts with a wall or other hero during the knockback they are stunned.  
> Metamorphie Faciesse(W): The Moonlit Witch turns the target into a small, cute animal. The target is unable to attack, use abilities or items and is slowed by 50%. The duration is increased when cast on non-hero targets.  
> Mana Spray(E): The Moonlit Witch unleashes a burst of mana from her wand, spraying the area with magic and hurling herself backwards. The mana cost is equal to 10% of the Moonlit Witch's current mana, and deals damage equal to the amount of mana spent.
> 
> Bow Form - Achieved with high AD.  
> Shiny Arc(Q): The Moonlit Witch sets her eyes on her target, and draws back a mighty arrow. It locks onto her target, chasing it down and exploding, damaging both her target, and all enemies around it.  
> Wave Arrow(W): The Moonlit Witch fires off an enchanted arrow, which weaves through her enemies, burning them all with magic, without touching any of them.  
> Rising Shine(E): The arrows of the Moonlit Witch all carry hints of magic. With each auto attack the Moonlit Witch applies a stack of magical poisoning. At 3 stacks the poison explodes, dealing bonus damage and slowing the target by 20% for 2 seconds.
> 
> Axe Form - Achieved with high Health or Armour  
> Earthsunder(Q): The Moonlit Witch strikes the earth, rending the ground and tearing forth a small ridge. Enemies caught on this ridge are knocked into the air. The ridge remains as a wall, preventing movement for all units for a few seconds.  
> Oakspliter(W): The Moonlit Witch strikes her target, breaking their armour, and inflicting light damage. The target's armour remains reduced for a long time.  
> Counterstrike(E): With axe in hand, the Moonlit Witch is prepared for anything. Whenever she is hit by an auto attack she has a 20% chance of immediately retaliating with an attack that deals damage equal to the damage dealt to her, before reduction.
> 
> Hook Form - Achieved with high Cooldown Reduction  
> Snag(Q): The Moonlit Witch fires out the grappling hook, and grabs an enemy. The grab deals damage, and pulls the enemy to the Moonlit Witch's position.  
> Securing Strike(W): The Moonlit Witch empowers her hook, making the next auto attack she makes root the target in place.  
> Grappling Escape(E): The Moonlit Witch fires her hook at a wall, tree, or ally. It latches onto the target, and pulls her to it's location.
> 
> Broom Form - Achieved with high Movespeed  
> Dash!(Q): The Moonlit Witch surges forward on her broom, damaging all enemies she passes through as she does.  
> Overcharge(W): The Moonlit Witch pushes her broom as fast as it can go. She gains a move speed bonus, and leaves a trail of magical waste behind her, dealing damage to any enemy who stands in it.  
> Blast Off!(E): The Moonlit Witch charges her broom for a moment, before rocketing into the air, and landing at a distant location. The impact of her landing deals damage to all enemies around the impact zone. Any damage taken while charging her broom interrupts the Moonlit Witch.
> 
> Seven Lessons(R): The Moonlit Witch has learned seven essential lessons in her life. She may recall a different lesson at will. Each lesson increases the value of one of her stats by 10%. The following stats may be improved:  
> -AD  
> -AP  
> -Mana  
> -Health  
> -Armor  
> -Cooldown Reduction  
> -Movespeed


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh...this is sooner than I expected. But I settled on the way I want to release chapters. The plan is "Once or week, or when the next is done." So, since I just cranked out Chapter Three over the weekend, here you go, an update. 
> 
> I'm presenting a LOT more hero names in this chapter. Some of which are references to things I like. Expect a fair few of those. I also have a few references just flat out to other LWA fics I've read and enjoyed. Sorry if I step on some toes with that.
> 
> Anyway, some more terms for you!
> 
> Gank - Killing someone through something a bit tricky. Usually roaming out of your lane to go and gang up on someone else, but can just as readily refer to an ambush or something similar on your opponent in lane.
> 
> Blink - A short range teleport.
> 
> There'll be another hero profile at the bottom, and then...I don't have a plan for who to do next. If a name catches your eye that you'd like explained, let me know, otherwise I suppose I'll be picking Amanda's main as the third hero to explain.

**\---AMANDA---**

 

Amanda placed her feet on the desk as she stared at the white board. Thirty names were written on it. Diana stood beside it, adding a small mark next to the existing heroes that were staying in. Amanda looked over the list slowly. It didn't seem all that outlandish. She could absolutely see that being the next line up. She wouldn't admit that though. Diana didn't need a reason to be even more full of herself. So she scanned over the list again, a little slower, trying to pick out something to complain about.

 

 

**Titanium Maiden                       Magic Marksman                            Silent Assassin**

***Shooting Star                           *Sorrow Demon                             White Wraith**

***Fallen Angel                            Grenadier                                       *Beast Mistress**

**Siren                                         Exalted Equestrian                         *Fist of Justice**

***Weeping Widow                       *Calamity Cowgirl                          Deviant Hunter**

***Curious Inventor                     *Empress                                        *Nature's Wrath**

**Lightwarden                              *Dancing Duelist                            Ancient Witch**

***Loyal Defender                        Rapture Ranger                              *Soulseeker**

**Gravity Queen                           *Crimson Lady                               Gravekeeper**

***Time's Keeper                         Trickster                                         Moonlit Witch**

 

 

“Moonlit Witch? Really?” Amanda asked instead. Diana didn't stop marking heroes as she answered.

“Yes. She's the best fit for the wild card slots. Do you have any other questions?” She replied. Amanda let her gaze wander over the list. She didn't have anything to add, so she shrugged.

“Nah. Are we gonna get started?” She said instead. She reached over to grab her mouse, and pulled it over to the custom lobby button.

“I believe so, yes.” Diana replied, as she stepped away and returned to her own computer. “Do you need a minute to make any plans?” Amanda glanced over at her team mates, Jasminka and Constanze.

“Don't think so.” She sat up, and opened the team's chat window.

 

_NoCause 12:54_

 

_Shooting Star, Marksman and Maiden?_

 

_HungerFairy 12:54_

 

_I haven't played Titanium Maiden in a while._

 

_NoCause 12:54_

 

_Good time to practice then. Cons?_

 

Constanze just sent back a thumbs up. It figured that even when she was typing she'd avoid words. “Yeah, we're good.” Amanda announced. “What map?”

“Arcturus Forest.” Diana replied. That figured. It was the only map that never rotated out of the season, making it a safe choice for practice. Amanda created the lobby, and sent out a series of invites. It took a moment to get everyone shuffled into their teams, then they started. Amanda had set it to blind pick today. Draft was the traditional approach, but with a new line up it was best to practice combos, and worry about counters later. Amanda locked in her hero of choice, Shooting Star, and flicked through her rune pages idly. She wasn't really making a choice here. She'd pick the AP/Move speed page, like always. Contanze locked in Magic Marksman, and Jasminka picked the Titanium Maiden, as planned. They waited for the match countdown to finish, and the loading screen to open.

Amanda raised her eyebrows as the loading screen appeared, showing what the other team had picked. Barbara had chosen Fallen Angel, a support from last season. Not a big surprise. Hannah, the carry for their team, had selected Rapture Ranger. Diana had chosen Ancient Witch Jennifer. Amanda wasn't too sure how this lane should go for her, but she wasn't going to let Diana walk away with an easy win.

 

Diana didn't walk away with an easy win. She walked away with three. After the third defeat Amanda had thrown in the towel.

“Very well. We should play on the ladder a bit as well.” Diana had replied simply. Amanda walked alongside the courtyard, arms stretched behind her head, trying not to let the losses get to her. She wasn't doing a very good job of it. After the first game she'd just thought Shooting Star had a bad match up against Jennifer. Any attempt she made to go for a kill was swiftly thwarted with a root, while Diana fell back to her tower. Each attempt cost Amanda a bit of health, and eventually Diana would just go in, nuking her down and taking over the lane. The second game, Amanda tried to work around this. She'd slip away from the lane regularly, ducking off to try and gank Hannah and Barbara in the bottom lane.

That went better, and she'd managed to kill Hannah the first time she tried it. She spared a glance through the computers at Hannah, and was rewarded with a frustrated scowl. The next time she tried it though, Diana rotated down almost immediately. There was no attempt to escape this time. Amanda dived in to the fight. Diana came in behind her, and she was completely surrounded and destroyed. Jasminka and Constanze had tried to bail her out, but all that had achieved was getting Constanze killed as well. Future ganks were just as disastrous.

In the final game, they'd swapped lanes entirely. Jasminka and Constanze did fine against Diana, who played a perfectly defensive game. She even conceded CS to the duo. Amanda...played like she always did. Aggressively. And Hannah and Barbara punished her for it. Again. And again. And again.

“Can you believe them?” Amanda announced to no one in particular. When no one answered her she kept going. “I bet that was a waste of time anyway. Diana probably fucked up the predictions, and we'll find nothing we played works.”

Amanda felt a tug on her jacket. She looked down at Constanze, who shook her head. Amanda sighed.

“Yeah, you're probably right. Still sucks.” She grumbled, kicking at the ground. “Now what do we do?” The practice had only taken an hour and a half, and now that it was mid-afternoon, Amanda wasn't sure what else they could do. She wasn't in the mood to play any more after that. But the team house was boring otherwise. Amanda was pretty sure they did that to encourage them to practice more. If you couldn't find anything else to do, you'd eventually give up and just practice more, right?

“We could have lunch.” Jasminka suggested. Amanda looked at her. She had a packet of chips in hand, and was steadily making her way through them. Constanze tugged on Amanda's jacket again. Amanda looked back at her. She was pointing up stairs.

“Oh, you wanna go work on Stanbot some more?” Amanda asked. Constanze nodded. Amanda sighed.

“Sure, you guys go do your thing. I'll work something out.” She said.

“See you later!” Jasminka called, as her and Constanze headed for the stairs. Amanda waved, watching them go. Maybe she should go check in on the red team. That new girl was probably joining them as their third right? It'd be cool to get to know her. Maybe she'd have another ally in knocking Diana down a peg or three.

 

 

**\---LOTTE---**

 

“We're fucked.” Sucy announced, once Akko was certainly asleep. Lotte frowned.

“I don't think it's that bad.” She replied. She wasn't so sure though. She'd had her doubts when she'd been accepted to Luna Nova. She was barely platinum, and had never been part of a proper team before. Odds were good that she'd been recruited just to provide a practice partner to the other teams.

“You're right. We're probably just going to be locked up as the team punching bags.” Sucy continued.

“You don't know that. Akko might surprise us.” Lotte replied. She wasn't hopeful though. “Maybe we can play a game when she gets up and find out.”

“Maybe they'll realise they made a mistake and give us a real carry if we do that.” Sucy mused. Lotte frowned, but didn't bother. She'd only met Sucy a few days ago, but she'd quickly learned not to waste time arguing with her. She seemed to back down when reprimanded by someone other than her target, but when she was complaining at you, nothing you could say would stop her.

Even if they were just a practice team, it wasn't bad. It was better than anything else Lotte could imagine doing. After all, they'd get to practice with some of the best. Plenty of amazing players had come from practice teams. Lotte didn't imagine she'd get that far. She'd much rather be a coach in the future. But while she was young enough, she'd try and compete, before her reflexes dulled enough to prevent her keeping up. It didn't happen to everyone, of course, plenty of players kept going well into their 30s. But even more dropped off in their mid-20s. Lotte would go until she couldn't go any further, then retire to be a coach. Maybe she could even obtain a position with Luna Nova!

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.

“Are you getting that?” Sucy asked. She didn't sound like she intended to if the answer was no.

“Sure.” Lotte replied, crossing the room to open the door. She found Amanda, leaning on the door frame.

“Sup.” She said, with a small nod.

“Hello Amanda. Can I help you with something?” Lotte asked.

“Yeah, I was wondering if Akko was around.” Amanda replied.

“She's uh...sleeping.” Lotte answered. “You two met?”

“Yeah, Cavendish's pets were giving her shit when she arrived.” Amanda explained.

“I can't believe I actually agree with them for once.” Sucy remarked.

“Huh? Why?” Amanda demanded.

“She only plays the Moonlit Witch.” Lotte explained softly. Amanda raised her eyebrows.

“Seriously? Geez. Though, guess that makes sense of Cavendish's theory.” She said.

“What theory?” Sucy asked.

“Do you want to come in?” Lotte offered, stepping back. Amanda stepped inside, and made a bee-line for the couch.

“Yeah, Cavendish made a list of heroes she thinks are making the rotation. Moonlit Witch was on it, which I thought was weird. But hey, if they picked up someone who mains her, maybe it's legit.” Amanda explained as she crashed down into the couch. Lotte perked up a little. She wasn't surprised to hear Diana had made that list. Even having only known her a few days Lotte could tell she was very smart. Plus she'd heard plenty of coaches made similar lists, and would get their players practising. There were a lot of stories of those predictions being wrong, and players being quite upset.

“Do you remember who was on the list?” Sucy asked.

“We played a couple of scrims against them. We picked Shooting Star, Titanium Maiden and Marksman.” Amanda replied. Lotte perked up a little. She liked Titanium Maiden. She wasn't her favourite, as tanky heroes were hard for her to get into the mindset of. “And they picked Jennifer, Rapture and Fallen Angel.” Fallen Angel was much better news. She was one of Lotte's favourite heroes.

“How did the scrims go?” Lotte asked. Amanda shrugged nonchalantly.

“We lost. No biggie.” She answered. “Hate to admit it but they're pretty co-ordinated.” The conversation fell into an awkward lull. Lotte wasn't too comfortable around Amanda yet. Lotte had only arrived at the team house a few days ago. Enough time to get over her jet lag, and settle in. In that time she'd gotten to know a bit about the other new teams. Not enough to consider any of them friends though. She'd gotten to know Sucy a bit better, and she felt like she was as much Sucy's friend as anyone was right now.

“Alright, well, if Akko's sleeping, I'm gonna go do some laddering. See you at dinner. If she's up this evening, we should do some scrims. I wanna see how she does.” Amanda declared, as she climbed to her feet.

“Okay! See you then!” Lotte replied.

“Later” Sucy waved. Her and Amanda seemed to get along a little better. Amanda saw herself out, leaving just Lotte and Sucy in the room again.

“Um, do you want to duo queue?” Lotte suggested uncertainly. Sucy shrugged.

“Why not?”

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

“Um, Akko?” A soft, uncertain voice penetrated her sleep. Akko groaned, and waved at it to go away. Or at least, she waved in what she thought was it's general direction. She wasn't entirely certain.

“Akko!” The voice was a little louder. She groaned a bit louder.

“Go away...” She murmured.

“Akko!” This one was almost a shout, followed by a quick “Sorry.” Akko peeled her eyes open slowly, and looked up. There was an unfamiliar girl with short orange hair and glasses staring at her. Who was that? Why was her door not where it was supposed to be?

“What?” She asked grumpily. Maybe that would make her go away.

“It's almost dinner time. I thought you might want to come eat.” The girl replied. Akko paused. She did want to eat. But she also wanted to sleep. She stared at the girl for a moment, while those two desires battled inside her. The longer the battle went though, the more she found herself waking up, and the hungrier she got.

“Alright.” She agreed finally. She wrestled her blankets for a moment, before collapsing out of bed onto the floor. From outside the door she could hear someone snickering softly. Akko jumped back to her feet. “I'm okay!” She looked down at herself. The clothes she'd travelled in were a mess. “I should get changed, huh?”

“That might be a good idea.” Lotte replied with a small smile. “Uniforms aren't necessary after the day's practice is over.” Akko gave her a blank look. Lotte sighed. “Around dinner time we finish practising.” She added.

“Alright! I'll be right there!” Akko declared. Lotte nodded, and closed the door as she stepped out, leaving Akko to dig through her luggage and pick out something to wear. England was cold, and coming in Akko had been very rugged up. The team house however was nice and warm, so she slipped into shorts and a tank top. She grabbed a hoodie as well, just to be safe, before slipping out.

“So, what are we eating?” Akko asked.

“Whatever Jasminka decides to cook.” Sucy replied.

“I think she said she was doing spaghetti today.” Lotte said, as they headed for the door.

“Sounds good!” Akko declared. “Hey, does everyone eat together?”

“Everyone on this side of the team house does. They split us up based on seniority.” Lotte answered. “The new teams are all located here.”

“Oh, cool! How many teams are there?”

“Just the three. Red team, us, green team and blue team.” Akko nodded along to Lotte's explanation.

“Which one is Amanda on?”

“Amanda is captain of the green team.” Lotte answered. Akko stopped mid-stride. She hadn't considered that there'd be a team captain. She should have. Of course there would be.

“Who's our team captain?” She asked.

“We don't know.” Sucy said dryly. “We were told she'd be announced once we were all here.” Akko nodded, and tried not to get her hopes up. Chariot had been her team's captain, and so she desperately dreamed of being captain as well. But being captain came with a lot of responsibility, and both Sucy and Lotte seemed like they'd be better suited for it. Maybe not Sucy. Captain's were supposed to do interviews, and she couldn't imagine Sucy handling those very well. It would probably be Lotte, she concluded. She seemed nice enough to pull it off.

The girls came to a stop in front of the dining room door. Akko stepped forward and led the way inside. She was greeted by six other girls, all spread around the room. She immediately noticed the large girl with pale pink hair in the kitchen, cooking away. She waved to her, and she waved back.

“Hello!” She called out softly.

“Yo! Akko!” Amanda greeted her. She was sitting at the middle table with a short girl who was typing furiously at an equally small laptop.

“That's Jasminka and Constanze.” Lotte whispered softly to Akko.

“Hey!” Akko called back, and walked over to sit with Amanda.

“I was looking for you earlier.” Amanda said. “Wanted to see what you played, y'know?”

“Oh, I was sleeping sorry!” Akko replied with a sheepish grin.

“Yeah, your team told me. They said you play Moonlit Witch?” Amanda continued. Akko grinned.

“Yeah! I want to be just like my idol, Shiny Chariot!” She declared.

“Like Shiny Chariot?” A new voice interrupted the conversation, reminding Akko that she hadn't actually looked at who else was in the room. She looked over to the next table. The two girls from earlier were sitting at it, alongside a third girl. The girl stood, and turned to look at her. She was, quite simply, gorgeous. She had long, flowing blonde hair with tea-green highlights, and bright blue eyes that were soiled by a hint of disgust. In any other circumstance, Akko might have developed a crush on her.

“Yeah!” Akko replied, a hint of defiance creeping into her voice. Something about this girl's tone made her feel defensive.

“You are aware that Shiny Chariot is considered a disappointment by most serious players, aren't you?” She asked. “She could have been great, but she ended up being a one-trick. And then when Moonlit Witch got nerfed after her success, she vanished from the scene. Unfortunate, really. She might have had a serious impact on the scene if she could play anything else.” Akko grit her teeth.

“She did have a serious impact!” She shouted. The girl raised an eyebrow at her.

“Oh? And what might that be?”

“She inspired me to start playing! And I know I'm not the only one! The way she focused on always having fun and doing what you love in the game made me want to be just like her!” Akko announced, climbing to her feet now. “And I am! I'm going to become the world champion, just like her!”

“I highly doubt that. You're a one-trick, just like Chariot. And your hero isn't even in rotation.”

“I will be! I'll show you!” Akko continued. The girl wasn't entirely wrong, but something about her attitude rubbed Akko the wrong way.

“Please do. I believe you specialise in 1v1s. Why don't you start by trying to beat me in that?” Akko grinned at the challenge.

“You're on!” She replied. Her stomach growled at her. “After dinner, if you don't mind?”

“Of course. I wouldn't want you to make any excuses when you lose.”

 

Dinner had been delicious. Despite the game Akko had coming up, she couldn't stop thinking about how good it had been.

“Akko, focus.” Lotte said softly.

“Huh? Right, sorry.” Akko responded. They'd made their way downstairs after dinner, and gotten set up in one of the practice rooms. Akko had thought it'd just be her and the other girl, but both of their teams had accompanied them. Amanda's team had come down to watch as well, claiming to have nothing better to do.

“Diana plays the solo lane as well. She's very good, and can play most heroes.” Lotte explained. “I don't know what you should be expecting.”

“Ancient Witch, probably.” Amanda pitched in. Akko nodded. She'd played against Ancient Witch a lot. She knew what to look out for.

“Got it!” She replied. “Wish me luck!”

“Good luck.” Lotte said softly. Akko walked over to one of the computers and settled down. Across from her Diana took a seat as well.

“I'll be picking Ancient Witch.” Diana announced, as they set up the lobby.

“It's blind pick. You don't need to tell me.” Akko replied, irritation creeping into her voice. She didn't need Diana looking down on her.

“You've already told me what you're playing. I'm simply making things even. I refuse to accept any result you might dispute.” Diana answered.

“Fine. Let's just start.” Akko demanded.

“As you wish.”

 

Akko stared at the shop, mulling over what to buy. She had 30 seconds before she'd be free to go to lane. Plenty of time to make a rough plan. In a 1v1, there were three ways to win. 100 CS, 2 kills, or taking a tower. Akko was not good at last hitting, so she avoided trying to get the CS win if she could help it. She'd achieved a few in her time, but they were rare. She preferred going for the kills. That was where Moonlit Witch excelled.

She avoided stat items. At level 1, the Moonlit Witch's stats were perfectly balanced to swap each form with her ultimate. Any item threw that off, forcing her into a single form in the early game. Akko had made that mistake a lot at first, until she realised that having five spells at level one was much better than just one. So instead she bought consumables. A ward. Two flares. A healing potion. Two mana potions. Akko stared at the items a little longer, before finally grabbing a flash powder to top it all off.

The time was up, and the barriers keeping Akko in the fountain dropped. She set off for the lane immediately. They were playing on an altered version of Arcturus Forest. It was largely the same map, but the bottom lane would never spawn any minions. Jungle creeps also never spawned, neither did objectives. Akko slipped into the jungle in the middle of the map immediately, and snaked through the bushes, aiming to get into a position close to Diana's tower.

She swapped her improved stat to movement speed as she went, transforming Moonlit Witch into her broom form in the process. As she came to a stop in the bushes she switched to improve her cooldown reduction, in turn changing to hook form. While she went over what she was planning, she threw down her ward in the bush. She'd need it for later, she was sure. The plan was simple enough. Diana would have to walk out into lane. When she did, Akko would hook her into her bush for a particularly close encounter.

Akko frowned. That was a really bad way to phrase things. She'd pull Diana into the concealment, and then brutally murder her. That was a better way to put it. No chance for a double entendre there. It was a simple plan. A good plan. But one that relied on Diana exposing herself. Akko didn't think she was the type of girl to do that. So she'd need a better plan. A way to force herself onto Diana. That was also really bad phrasing.

Diana walked into lane with the creeps. As Akko had suspected, she was taking cover behind the creeps. There'd be no way to reach her from Akko's current position. So she did the next best thing. She came out, and charged. Predictably, Diana turned back towards her tower. Akko flipped stats again, off of cooldown reduction and out of hook form, onto health and into axe form. Diana continued moving for the tower. She knew what Akko had planned.

Or at least, she thought she did. She was expecting Akko to use her Q to block her off with a wall, and she was trying to get back under her tower before that could happen. Unfortunately for her, Akko had learned this trick long ago. If she aimed to cut Diana off with the wall, she'd just create a small pocket of safety for her under the tower. So she aimed to clip Diana with the back of the wall as she threw down her Earthsunder. She hit her mark, sending Diana flying up into the air and inflicting a small amount of damage.

This wasn't a poke though. It was a gank, and Akko intended to close it out. Diana hadn't even reached the peak of her skyward trip before Akko had swapped back to broom form, dashing forward with her Q, and inflicting a bit more damage as she passed over Diana, and into the tower range.

“What an idiot.” Akko heard the brunette mutter from across the room. The tower targeted her, loosing a single, slow moving projectile. Akko tapped the 4 key, turning on her mana potion. She'd need it to pull off the full combo. Then she hit 5, and with her flash powder blinked to the other side of the wall she'd just created. Diana paused, and Akko could feel the realisation. She knew she was fucked.

Akko swapped back to the hook, and fired at Diana. She wasn't running anymore. She was instead trying to juke back and forth, to throw off Akko's shot. It wouldn't work. Akko had landed more hooks than most players had thrown. The hook latched onto the Ancient Witch, and whisked her over the wall, into Akko's clutches. With no where for Diana to flee, she opted to fight back, auto attacking and stutter stepping backwards. Akko swapped to attack damage, and with it bow form as she followed the pattern, attacking and stepping to keep close. Diana coaxed her to the top of the lane, near the tree line.

Suddenly, something Akko wasn't expecting happened. She was rooted. Diana must have planted a trap on one of the trees! And she'd fallen for it! The wall collapsed a second later, and Diana started to retreat. She was low. Low enough Akko could secure the kill if she tried. She swapped back to mana, and threw off her second last Q. On the tip of it's path it connected, shoving Diana out of vision, and failing to kill her.

There was a collective set of sighs from the other side of the room. They thought she'd escaped. Akko swapped back to bow form. She wasn't finished yet. She glanced down at her mana. 108. Shiny Arc cost 110. She tapped 2, for her flares, and fired one at Diana's tower. The flare lit up the area, revealing Diana walking back from the tower. She was a single auto attack from death. She probably didn't want to recall close enough for Akko to dive on her with broom form.

The mana regeneration pushed her up to 110. Akko cast her Q on Diana. On her screen the Moonlit Witch pulled back a massive arrow, before unleashing it. Akko trailed it after Diana, until it exploded.

“First Blood!” The announcer declared in Akko's headphones.

 

_[0:47]DCavendish: wp_

_[0:49]Akko: ty_

 

Akko looked for another chance to score a kill, but Diana was particularly careful now. She was down about half a level thanks to the first kill, and subsequently losing out on the minion wave. She lurked close to the trees, which Akko was certain contained at least one trap, until she reached level 2. Then she suddenly got aggressive.

The Ancient Witch darted forward, sticking close behind the minion wave for cover, but drawing much closer than before, and unleashed a wave of butterflies at Akko. The wave struck the minions, killing one of them, and hit Akko, chunking her for a portion of her health. Akko hovered over the R key, waiting to see how the fight would develop. But it didn't. Diana simply walked towards some trees. The way she faced, Akko was sure she'd planted another trap, but there was no animation to confirm it. Just her pointing at the tree. It could be a bluff, for all Akko knew.

This fell into a steady, frustrating pattern. Diana would move forward, throw a single round of butterflies at Akko, then pull back. Sometimes Akko would land a hit of her own, but she never gained an edge, and Diana had packed enough potions that the damage never lasted long. Akko meanwhile was dropping low. At level 3 she pulled back to the tower to use a potion and nurse her wounds. It'd take her a bit, but she'd be able to keep fighting for the lane.

Diana capitalised on her concession, and advanced, beyond Akko's minions, standing between foe and the experience she so desperately needed. Akko couldn't really contest her position at her current health total, and so she gave the lane to Diana. Diana made no effort to shove the lane out. If anything, she seemed to be leaving CS if she couldn't take it at the last second, stalling out how long the lane was there, and how many last hits Akko missed as well.

The potion ended with Akko at half health. It'd have to be enough. Diana was still pushed far forward. Akko could potentially jump her while she was away from her safety trees and secure the win. Or at least even the balance enough to regain control of the game. She swapped to hook form, and went for it.

She fired her E at the nearest tree, and whisked forward towards Diana. And right into a trap. Diana immediately stepped forward, following the root with a wave of butteflies, a single auto attack, and then her W. The nearby trees were ripped up as they flew towards Akko, dropping her incredibly low. Diana auto-attacked one last time, securing the kill. Akko stared at the screen. That was not ideal. She'd walked right into Diana's trap. Now they were tied up 1-1. Akko quickly opened the score screen as she counted down to respawning.

She had 30 CS. Diana had 41. Her tower had been reduced to half health as well. She wasn't going to find a win anywhere else. She needed the next kill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hero Profile for Ancient Witch Jennifer  
> Roles: Nuker, Disabler, Initiator
> 
> Abilities:
> 
>  
> 
> Nature's Bond(Passive): While within a small radius of a tree, or standing in bushes, Ancient Witch regenerates mana at twice her usual speed.
> 
> Pappiliodya Swarm(Q): Ancient Witch fires off a swarm of Pappiliodya butterflies at her enemy. It deals damage on contact to all enemies. Incoming projectiles hit by the wave are nullified. If the wave passes over a destroyed tree, the tree is immediately restored. Units standing on a restored tree are knocked up.  
> Forest Call(W): Ancient Witch summons the trees of the forest to her defense. All trees within the selected area uproot themselves, and hurl themselves at her target, dealing damage for each tree. If a tree is under the effect of Grasping Roots, it roots the target for 1 second. This duration is increased for each tree under the effect of Grasping Roots.  
> Grasping Roots(E): Ancient Witch empowers a tree to serve as her guardian. When an enemy enters a small radius around the tree they are immediately rooted for 1.5 seconds.  
> Forest of the Soul(R): Ancient Witch summons forth the spirits of trees who have served her before, conjuring a spectral forest around her foes. Each tree in this forest has Grasping Roots cast on it. After Grasping Roots triggers, it is immediately re-cast 3 seconds later.


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I'll just update weekly. I shouldn't push myself too hard to keep up with all of my favorite fic authors." - A younger, more naive me.
> 
> Y'know, Boxer is becoming more a mainstay than I thought, perhaps I should add an OC tag to the list, just to be safe.
> 
> Definitions:
> 
> BM - Bad Manners. Refers to basically anything you do to be rude to your opponent.
> 
>  
> 
> Also, credit to Tibbsgirl for the idea of the Chariot poster. I have approximately 0 shame stealing that idea from The Game Of Love as I just find it hilarious, but I don't want anyone thinking it was mine.

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko had a decent amount of gold to spend. The early kill had secured her a decent amount of money. She hadn't spent any of it, as any item would throw off her balance. Now however she had enough to buy each of the three talismans. They were broadly speaking intended for the three archetypes. A health boosting one for tanks that reduced incoming damage a little. An AP and mana boosting one for casters, with a tiny bit of mana regen. And finally an AD and attack speed boosting one for carries, that provided a tiny bit of life steal.

The three items would never keep Akko on pace with another hero in the same role, but they'd keep her powerful enough to win a fight with her full combo. She had a little more gold, so she bought another healing potion and a dash flask. Her move speed was too low to go into broom form now, and she suspected she'd need it. The dash flask would give her a short move speed boost to give her enough time for one, maybe two spells in broom form.

The Moonlit Witch appeared in the fountain again, and Akko immediately set off to get back to lane. Diana had taken her tower down even further while she was gone. She wouldn't get another chance to go back. If she was forced out of lane it would be all over. She arrived in the lane at about the time an owl, Diana's courier, arrived behind Diana. It tapped against the Ancient Witch, before turning around and heading back. Diana would be exactly even on her in terms of items. Ahead, really, since she had more CS.

Akko walked up to the minions, and immediately took a wave of butterflies to the face. Diana darted back right after, paying her a surprising amount of respect. Akko frowned. She'd expected a fight. The Ancient Witch had all the time in the world to prepare the battlefield. She should have the advantage here. So why wasn't Diana going in? She wasn't even fighting over the minions, letting the lane naturally push back. She stepped forward twice more to throw her butterflies at Akko, one of which Akko managed to avoid. But then she retreated into the fog.

It was starting to piss Akko off. Poking was a stupid strategy. Sure, it softened them up for a fight, but then you had to actually fight them. Pulling back so far you were hidden was the opposite of what you should do. It was, quite frankly, cowardly. Akko activated her potion and started to shove the lane. She cleared the wave, and advanced with her minions, finding Diana hovering beside the tree line near the top of the lane.

The next minion wave for Diana arrived, and she shifted her position slightly, hiding behind the minions, while still hugging close to the trees. Akko had a clear angle to jump on her with her hook. It'd be an easy kill. But she wasn't that stupid. Diana was leaving a clear opening. Which meant she had a trap set. Akko could move to the bottom of the lane, use the trees to get well behind Diana, and then try and come from that direction.

Diana knew that too though. For all Akko knew THAT was the trap. She only had one chance to get this right. She wasn't going to risk the entire game on a bad guess. Diana had a lot of time in the fog. They might both be trapped. All Akko could say for certain was the jungle below the lane was safe. She hadn't seen Diana walk into her ward's vision. If everything went horribly wrong, that would be her escape route, she decided.

Another wave of butterflies hit Akko in the face.

 

_[4:33] DCavendish: ?_

 

She was taunting her. Diana was taunting her! Akko grit her teeth. She'd show her. She swapped to hook form. Diana took a step back from her minions, exposing more of an angle if Akko jumped to the trees. Akko hesitated a moment. She wasn't going to fall for those dumb tricks. But she wasn't going to let Diana get away with taunting her either. So she pressed E, and fired, pulling herself towards her target.

The hook hit one of Akko's minions, and pulled her into the minion line. Very much in range of Diana. Very much not in range of any of the trees. Diana's minion wave would block any attempt to pull Diana to her, so she gave up on that idea, and swapped to Axe form. She cast another Earthsunder, knocking Diana up into the air, and advanced on her. Diana had, unfortunately, landed on the safe side of the wall. That was okay. Akko was only down a quarter of her mana, and she had a lot more tricks up her sleeve. The Moonlit Witch caught the Ancient Witch, and Akko cast Oaksplitter, before landing another hit. So far she had Diana down a sixth of her health.

Diana was fighting back, as best she could. She fired off a wave of butterflies, pushing Akko lower, and started to stutter step backwards to her tower. Akko swapped to bow form, and matched her attack for attack, pulling ahead with each blow. She took a half step under the tower, aggroing it for an attack, before stepping back. There was no way for Akko to push further. And with Diana's current health, she could still come back into lane safely.

Akko cast Shiny Arc. To her surprise, Diana didn't fall back. Instead she advanced, and fired another wave of butterflies at her. They could block abilities. Akko had lost a match to that once. But the timing was off, and the butterflies passed over her before the arrow fired. It hit Diana, chunking her down to a quarter health. Akko grinned. She could get a kill here. She knew she could. She stepped forward into tower range and attacked again.

Diana dropped down even lower. One more attack should do it. The tower attacked Akko, putting her down low too. If she wasn't careful she'd lose this fight. So she activated her last potion. With luck, it would keep her alive just long enough to win. Diana fired her W again. This time there was no root associated with it, just damage, and Akko dropped low. Low enough to die to the next tower hit. Akko fired off one more attack. It hit.

It wasn't enough for a kill. Diana limped away into the fog, leaving Akko to die to the tower. It fired it's attack. Akko flipped back to hook form, and fired at the nearest tree to her intended escape root. The hook latched, and zoomed her away from the incoming doom. She swapped to move speed, and activated the dash flask. With her new-found speed she ducked into the jungle, and out of sight from Diana. The tower shot hit.

Akko lived, with 7 HP to spare. It was very close. She should go back. She should play it safe, re-engage later. But she had more than 1 HP, and mana for two spells. She was good to go. She fired off her second flare. It exploded behind Diana's tower, giving her vision of Diana recalling. The animation had just started, and Diana instantly cancelled it, and began walking back. Akko smirked. It had worked. She tapped E, and clicked into the jungle next to Diana's second tower. She'd have to time this just right.

The Moonlit Witch jumped onto her broom, waiting a moment for it to charge, before blasting off through the air and landing at the target. Diana had walked out of the vision given by the flare. She could safely recall now if she wanted. But Akko knew she wouldn't. The risk of Akko finding her and winning was too great. The smart play was to walk back to safety. Akko swapped to bow form, and aimed her W into the fog.

 

**Akko has slain DCavendish**

 

Akko grinned at the message popped up on her screen, and flopped back into her chair. The screen panned over to Diana's Core, and Akko watched it explode.

 

_[4:51_ _] DCavendish:_ _WP_

 

Akko had done it! She'd won!

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Diana stared at the ceiling, trying not to dwell on her loss. It wasn't working. It shouldn't bother her. It was just one game. A 1v1 no less. It wasn't even representative of how good they were. But when the game had finished, the looks on Barbara and Hannah's faces had been devastating. She played it off, of course, smiling at them.

“It's been a while since I've played that match-up.” She'd announced. “It's to be expected I'd be rusty.” They'd relaxed a little bit at that, but still seemed anxious about it. Amanda meanwhile, had the smuggest look on her face. Diana didn't wait to see what she wanted to say, excusing herself quickly with a short “good game” to Akko, before heading out.

“Can you believe that Amanda?” Hannah had begun as they walked in. “The way she was looking at you, it's like she'd just 1v3ed us herself.”

“And after she lost so badly this morning too!” Barbara carried on. “It's not even like Akko was that good. She just got lucky!” Diana had winced at that remark. She knew it wasn't entirely true. Yes, Akko wasn't that good. But Diana had made mistakes which cost her.

“Girls.” She said. “How about we do some laddering tonight?”

“Yes Diana!” They agreed in chorus. They reached masters that night. It was quite the achievement, and a flood of messages had arrived to congratulate them on the achievement. And despite that, Diana found herself dwelling on her match with Akko. It wasn't even really a practice match. No serious team put value in 1v1 practice. It had been entirely a vanity match. Despite her bold declaration, Diana hadn't truly expected to win. She'd only challenged Akko to get a read on her.

And yet, the loss hurt. She replayed the fights in her head, again and again, wondering how she could have done better. She dwelt on how she'd handled the lane after killing Akko. Would she have done the same thing if she didn't know Akko was weak to harass? Would she have tried to goad her if she hadn't been told Akko got worked up? Should she apologise?

It wasn't like her to BM her opponent. It wasn't like her to use chat for anything but congratulating people. But something about Akko rubbed her the wrong way. Maybe it was the naive way she idolised Shiny Chariot. Diana hadn't heard that name in years. After winning the championship she'd fallen off the radar. At first there were rumours of an injury, but when there was no news of a return several months later, it was concluded she'd quit. The generation of one-tricks she'd inspired were a plague on the community, and without their hero to decry the practice, Chariot took the blame for it.

The fact Akko had no remorse about being part of the problem didn't help Diana's opinion of her. And the confidence with which she stated she'd become world champion. It was clear that Akko didn't have any regard for how much work went into being champion. Diana sighed. Despite everything, she did feel bad about BMing. She climbed out of bed, and switched on her computer again. Once it'd booted up, she logged onto Magical Burst, to see that Akko was playing a game with her team. She hesitated for a moment, before clicking on the spectate button.

Diana immediately regretted her decision as soon as the game finished loading up. It was a custom game, and Akko was predictably playing Moonlit Witch. Unlike their game, Akko had built pure AD items, locking her into bow form. Her team had been pushed back into their base, but the enemy couldn't close out the game. Any time they came close, Akko would hit one or more of them with a Shiny Arc, chunking them down below half health in one go. The enemy support was unfortunate enough to be able to be one-shot by Akko.

 

_[15:11]Akko has slain SIFdif_

_[15:13]Akko: LOL_

_[15:16]Akko: Sorry!_

_[15:24]SIFdif: I'm not even mad lmao. This is amazing._

 

Diana did not see how this could be considered amazing. It was downright idiotic. Akko had given up every advantage of the Moonlit Witch. She was essentially playing her like a weaker version of Magic Marksman. Seeing this just rubbed salt onto the wound of losing. Diana didn't understand the Moonlit Witch. When Boxer had said it was like facing two random champions at once, she hadn't believed it. But when she fought Akko, she understood. In her hands the Moonlit Witch was awkward. Her kit fought itself, as each spell in each form wanted to do something different. In Akko's hands, the Moonlit Witch had been perfect. Her kit fit together like a puzzle, as Akko shifted forms seemlessly to chain three spells from three different sets together into a powerful combo.

And now she was throwing away that advantage for a stupid gimmick build. It was infuriating. Diana had gotten up to apologise. That was a mistake, she now decided. She had nothing to apologise for. Akko didn't understand what this game was. She didn't understand the dedication it took to play well. She didn't belong here. Diana was not going to apologise for trying to show her that. BM was, after all, just another strategy. She closed the game, and went back to bed. Despite her resolution, sleep still eluded her for a while, as thoughts of the match circled in her head.

 

 

**\---SUCY---**

 

“Last night was pretty fun, huh?” Lotte asked softly. Sucy looked over at her slowly. She had a small, hopeful smile. Sucy sighed. After Akko's game with Diana they'd decided to play a bunch of games together, to see how well they worked together. Akko had suggested they play silly modes. “Since we don't know what we'll be playing anyway!” She'd explained. Lotte had agreed it would be fun, and so Sucy had reluctantly played along. Akko produced some friends from somewhere, and explained the rules. They were doing what Akko called a “mono-battle”. They'd start by picking one item, and that was the only item they could build all game. It sounded moronic, but it actually turned out to be quite fun.

“I guess it was.” She agreed. “Don't tell Akko I said that.” Lotte nodded.

“Of course.” She replied. “Do you still think we're...in trouble?” Sucy smirked. She was pretty sure Lotte was about to say they were fucked, before finding she couldn't do it.

“I don't know.” Sucy conceded. “Last night wasn't like any other game I'd played. But she at least knew what she was doing.” She paused, and nodded a bit. “Plus she beat Diana. Did you see how upset she was?”

“I didn't think she was very upset.” Lotte answered.

“You weren't paying attention then. She was way too stiff when she walked out of the room.” Sucy explained. It had been hilarious. The looks on her cronies faces had been great too. If Akko doomed her to never win another game again, the sheer despair on display yesterday was worth it. Maybe.

“That doesn't mean she was upset.”

“It does. Trust me.” The conversation fell into a short, uncomfortable lull.

“How late do you think we should let her sleep?” Lotte asked suddenly.

“Not very. We should wake her up now.” Sucy replied. “We should be getting out to practice.” Lotte nodded slowly.

“I guess I'll go wake her up.” She said, getting up and heading for Akko's room. Sucy got up and followed behind her. She'd heard Akko bumping around in the room, getting things set up last night, and she was curious what the room would look like. Lotte cracked the door open, and hesitantly poked her head through. “Akko? You should really get up now.” She said softly. There was a groan from the room, followed by a thud, and Sucy snickered. She'd fallen out of bed again. Lotte opened the door a bit further, and Sucy finally got a look at the room.

Somehow, it was already a mess. Despite only being there a day, Akko had managed to get most of her clothes strewn across the floor. The walls were decorated with a layer of Shiny Chariot posters. The most prominent one was for the Magic Fiesta, a tournament. The poster seemed to suggest Chariot was heavily involved, but Sucy didn't know for sure. The rest were the generic fare. A few of them were of Chariot cosplaying the Moonlit Witch. One of them was surprisingly racy, featuring Chariot in the Moonlit Witch cape and hat, but with only a matching set of underwear underneath.

“I didn't think you'd be the type.” Sucy remarked. Akko looked over at her confused. She was half-way through getting dressed for the day.

“Huh?” She asked. Sucy nodded to the poster. Akko turned to look at it, before looking back with a sheepish grin. “Oh, yeah, that. I can take it down if you want! I just….y'know...”

“REALLY like her.” Sucy finished. Akko blushed a little.

“Something like that. So anyway, what are we doing today?” She asked.

“We were going to see if anyone wanted to practice.” Lotte answered.

“Oh, cool, sounds good!” Akko replied, pulling the last of her clothes on. Ursula had dropped off a uniform for her last night, and thankfully Akko had the presence of mind to wear it. “Can I get breakfast first?”

“I think that'll be okay.” Lotte answered. Sucy rolled her eyes.

“I'm going to go and see who's ready, and where we're all setting up.” She declared.

“Okay!” Akko called, waving as Sucy made her way to the door. It didn't take her long to find the other teams. They were both set up in practice room 1, along with Ursula.

“Hi coach.” Sucy said as she fell in beside Ursula. Ursula jumped, before letting out a loud sigh of relief, and putting a hand to her chest.

“Hello Sucy.” She replied. “Sorry, I didn't hear you come in.”

“I'm used to that.” Sucy replied.

“Where are the others?”

“Akko's getting breakfast, then they'll join us.” Sucy replied. Ursula nodded.

“That's good. We're almost done with this game, and I want to rotate one of the teams out if I can.” She explained. “I think the blue team needs a break first. They pushed to masters last night.”

“I saw.” Sucy replied. They were on her friends list, so she'd gotten a notification of their promotion. It had come in the middle of one of the mono-battles.

“Were you playing last night?” Ursula asked.

“Kind of.”

“Kind of?”

“We were doing mono-battles.” Sucy replied. “It's wh-” She started to explain, but Ursula let out a soft gasp.

“I haven't done mono-battles in years. Did you have fun?” She asked. Sucy paused for a second to process this news. She'd assumed mono-battles were something Akko had just made up.

“I guess.” She answered dryly. “We were just doing it to see how we worked as a team.”

“And?”

“Akko is an idiot.” Sucy announced. “She picked impossible fights, and would go in solo all the time. Then laugh when she died. Though, if Lotte or I started the fight, I guess she was okay.” Ursula smiled.

“It sounds like she understands how to play mono-battles at least.” She replied. Sucy didn't respond. She wasn't sure what to say. Thankfully, she was saved by the arrival of Akko and Lotte. “Oh, girls. As soon as this game is done, I want you to play a match against the green team.” Ursula called. Akko grinned.

“Okay!” She called back. Sucy sighed. This was going to be a long season, she could feel it.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Practice was painful. Playing the green team at least was kind of fun. She found herself laning against Amanda. Amanda had a very gank-y playstyle, which was fun to play against. There was always a challenge going on, calling out Amanda's rotations, looking for her ambush, or just straight up fighting her. After laning the games got a bit painful. Akko still wasn't quite comfortable with the others. Sometimes she'd go in when they were pulling back, or pull back too far as Lotte engaged a fight. The mistakes added up, and despite being otherwise evenly matched, the games usually ended in the green team emerging victorious.

After the green team however, they played the blue team. Laning against Amanda was fun. Laning against Diana was not. She rotated through heroes each game, and there was no rhythm to it. No two matches were similar. When Diana picked an assassin, she ganked hard, shutting down Lotte and Sucy with ease, and practically abandoning the lane to Akko except to swoop in and punish her for over-extending. But then she'd play a carry, and her laning was impeccably conservative. She'd step forward, take her CS, and pull back. Attempts to gank her were usually easily thwarted, and the few times someone came up to secure the kill, Barbara and Hannah would kill the other, keeping things even.

In their first game, things had been even. It was a little harder than last night. Akko couldn't rely on just getting two kills after all. She had to transition out, into an end game. But she had ended up emerging slightly ahead, before being shut down. The end game was hell. The blue team were perfectly in sync, and Akko was punished for her mistakes before she even realised she'd made them.

The second game was worse. Diana didn't make any mistakes in lane, and the lane ultimately ended on even grounds. The third game she came out ahead. With each time they played, Diana pulled further and further ahead of Akko in lane, until the last game she put Akko down 0/5 in lane. Akko tried not to let it get to her, but the snickers from Barbara and Hannah at her performance, and the slightly too loud whispering calling her lucky were starting to get under her skin.

“Alright girls, that's enough for today.” Ursula announced after the sixth game between the red and blue teams. “We've been here six hours, and I'm not going to let you go any longer. You'll all probably ladder tonight anyway.”

“We're taking a night off tonight.” Barbara declared.

“We decided to celebrate reaching masters. After all, we're the first junior team at Luna Nova to do it.” Hannah added. Akko pointedly looked away from them.

“That's good.” Ursula replied. She'd made everyone take breaks after every two games. Akko wondered if she even wanted them to practice. “Well, I'm sure you're going to want to get something to eat, but before you go, are there any questions? Or anything you'd like to bring up to discuss?” Lotte raised her hand hesitantly.

“Um. I was wondering if it's already been decided what role each team is playing?” She asked. “I know some teams recruit people just for scrims, so I was just wondering...”

“Yes, we have.” Ursula replied. “All nine of you will be representing Luna Nova in the tournament circuit.”

“What!” Hannah demanded. “There's no way the red team can keep up!” Ursula smiled.

“I believe they'll make a very successful team.” She replied calmly. “Is there anything else?” Akko looked around to see. She was met by a room of people shaking their heads. Ursula opened her mouth to speak. Suddenly, the door to the room barged open, and a rather mean looking woman stepped into the room, slightly breathless.

“Coach Finnelan!” Ursula exclaimed. “What's going on?” The woman at the door straightened up, catching her breath.

“The season announcement has been made a little early. They released the new roster, patch notes, and character spotlight.” Coach Finnelan declared. “We're having a team meeting to look at it together.”

“Who's the character spotlight?” Diana asked. Akko nodded a little. The character spotlight was her favourite part of every new season. As the characters of Magical Burst got older, sometimes they retired, and were replaced with a new, younger character who took up the title. Mechanically they were identical, though their model and sometimes their entire aesthetic got an overhaul.

“The Moonlit Witch.” Finnelan answered. Akko's face lit up. They never did character spotlights for characters outside the rotation. Which meant her main was in the rotation. She could actually play!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hero Profile for Shooting Star  
> Roles: Support, Escape, Nuker, Initiator
> 
> Need for Speed(Passive): Shooting Star slowly gains speed each second she moves in a straight line, capping after 5 seconds. Turning or stopping resets this bonus.
> 
> Blitz!(Q): Shooting Star rockets forward a distance based on her current move speed. Enemy heroes hit by this move are skewered onto the front of Shooting Star. Skewered enemies are dealt physical damage, and moved with Shooting Star. If this dash collides with a piece of terrain Shooting Star and all skewered enemies are stunned, and skewered enemies are dealt additional damage.  
> Sonic Jump(W): Shooting Star rockets up at supersonic speed, creating a sonicboom which knocks back all enemies around her and stuns them. She comes back down in the same spot a moment later. While in the air, Shooting Star cannot be targetted.  
> Saviour Dive(E): Shooting Star zooms forward in an arc. At the peak of her arc she may grab a friendly hero, and bring them back to her starting position. The dive may be cancelled early.  
> Don't Stop Me Now(Ultimate): Shooting Star does not need to stop moving to attack. She deals bonus damage with all attacks based on her current move speed. She may turn without losing her Need for Speed bonus.


	5. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitions!
> 
> Download - A term with two meanings. Downloading can refer to the practice of learning how to play a particular character by watching someone else play, and copying what they do, in essence downloading their techniques into your brain to try and learn the character. It can also refer to when a player learns the play pattern of another player, and turns a game around as a result.
> 
> Download Complete - A BM phrase for when the second definition of Download is performed.
> 
> Patch X - Refers to any player who suddenly becomes successful with a particular character when a patch is favorable to them, who then falls off when the imbalance is corrected. In Magical Burst terms usually refers to someone who was good for only one season, where their character didn't have any hard counters to their play style.

**\---AKKO---**

 

The entirety of the Luna Nova team was assembled in a large room Akko had never seen before. She guessed it was for team-wide announcements, since the room was just filled with rows of chairs, with a TV at the front. Akko was sitting near the back, along with the other junior teams. There was another girl sitting near them, with dark skin and big orange hair.

“Who's that?” Akko asked Lotte, trying to keep her voice down. The girl looked over anyway, and waved. Akko froze. Lotte just sighed.

“Hey! I'm Wangari!” The girl introduced herself. “You're Akko right?” Akko nodded.

“That's me!”

“I watched the replay of your match with Diana. It was so cool!” Wangari replied.

“You did? Why?” Akko asked. She didn't realise anyone would be looking at that match.

“Because, I'm Luna Nova's new in-house caster!” Wangari announced. Akko blinked.

“Why does Luna Nova need a caster?” She asked.

“To drum up hype of course!” Wangari answered. “Since none of you are allowed to stream, I'm going to be casting replays that the coaches approve of to put up online. That way when we go to tournaments, everyone will already know who you are.” Akko's face lit up.

“Really? That's so cool! Isn't that cool Lotte?” She asked, swinging back around to Lotte, who cringed slightly.

“Yeah, very cool.” Lotte agreed softly. “Could you maybe calm down a little bit? I think they're about to start.”

“Huh? Oh, right.” Akko turned back to the screen. Sure enough, the lights were being dimmed, and a video was set up on the screen. After a short delay, it started, and Akko's eyes went wide.

 

On screen was the Moonlit Witch, except a little older now. The original model had been in her early 20s Akko thought, but this witch looked like she was in her 40s. She was standing in a long, concrete hall, walking slowly towards a bright light at the end. As she reached the end, the camera cut back to facing her. She had one hand resting on the wall, and the other clutched to her chest. The Shiny Rod was no where to be seen.

The Moonlit Witch glanced up, and the camera panned to the sky, revealing a night sky, with seven particularly bright stars. After a moment, the stars all flew down, and the camera shifted, panning around the Moonlit Witch to follow them down. A massive stadium was revealed, containing an equally massive crowd, all intently staring at a stage in the middle. The stars assembled on stage, and in a burst of light, turned into the Shiny Rod. Akko leant forward on her chair.

The rod spun a few circles in the air, producing a large blob of light, which slowly took shape, and changed into a woman. The new Moonlit Witch. She jumped forward on stage, throwing her arms wide as the crowds cheered. She was young, with short red hair. She looked an awful lot like…

“Shiny Chariot!” Akko declared. “It's Shiny Chariot!”

“Akko.” Lotte hissed.

“Oh, sorry.” Akko replied softly, slinking back into the chair. Several girls around the room giggled, and Akko tried to will her face to stop burning.

The Moonlit Witch began to perform tricks on stage, but the camera panned away from her, back to the old witch. She was smiling sadly as she watched.

“Arae Aryrha huh?” She said softly, before chuckling, and pushing off the wall. She turned, and started to walk away. She only got a few steps before she paused. “Good luck kid.” She added, before resuming her walk away. As she went, she dropped her hat, and then her cape. The screen faded.

“That was so cool!” Akko exclaimed as soon as it was over.

“I thought it was kind of sad.” Lotte remarked.

“I guess. But did you see the new Moonlit Witch? She looks just like Shiny Chariot! That's so cool!” Akko continued. “And what was that Arae Aryrha thing?”

“Who knows? You're the expert.” Sucy replied. Before Akko could respond, a woman at the front of the room cleared her throat, drawing attention back to the screen. Akko glanced around a little as she looked. It seemed like she was the only one not paying attention.

“Thank you for your attention Miss Kagari. I'm very sorry to interrupt your very important discussion, but we do need to go over the roster.” Finnelan announced. Akko winced, and sunk into her chair a little. She pointed to the screen, where a list of characters resided. It was the same list they'd been choosing from all day.

“This is the list of heroes in the next season. I'm sure none of you are surprised. Miss Cavendish predicted this yesterday, and you've all been practising on them today. What she didn't predict was the map pool, which has also been announced. There's seven maps, the Arcturus Forest, of course, and these ones.” Finnelan gestured to the screen, where six images were displayed. Akko scanned over the maps quickly. A smile spread across her face as she spotted “Ohana Beach”.

“Ohana means family.” She said softly. Beside her, Lotte smiled. It was a phrase Khaldor started almost every cast on that map with, and one that had become a bit of a meme within the community. Next to it were a few more standard maps, “Blue Moon Abyss”, “Rastavan Ruins”, “Polaris Crater”, and “Arcturus Tower”. Then there was the particularly odd “Fruitland.” Akko loved Fruitland.

“As most matches will be best of threes, you will be able to ban two maps. That having been said, we expect you to practice on all of them.” Finnelan announced. “Once tournaments are approaching, you may narrow your focus. Which brings me to the next order of business. The season doesn't officially start for two weeks, and the first event isn't for another week after that. Therefore we will be holding the annual Witches' Cup in when the season goes live. For our new students, the Witches' Cup is an internal tournament held between all of our currently playing teams.”

“That's so cool.” Akko said softly. “We're going to win it!”

“You don't even know how to work with a team.” Sucy replied.

“Well, I'll learn!” Akko declared.

“Good luck.” Sucy muttered. Akko stuck her tongue out at her.

“And finally, the patch notes have been released. Please read over them carefully before you start practising. The pre-season starts in a few hours, so you can start practising on the ladder after dinner. That is all.” Finnelan announced.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

**Moonlit Witch**

 

_Dev Notes: When the Moonlit Witch was first introduced she was intended to be a flexible hero that could fill any role a team needed. As play developed however she became a highly versatile jack-of-all-trades caster that easily outclassed her opponents if played well. She has been kept out of rotation since then mostly to avoid dealing with the problem she posed. We decided to bring her back with a drastically changed dynamic that should put her more in line with the team's original vision for her._

 

**Claiomh Solais:** _Re-worked the scaling required to change forms._

 

**Seven Lessons:** _Reduced the bonus given from 10% to 5%._

 

Diana frowned. That was unfortunate. She had been looking forward to applying her downloading efforts. It would be a disaster for Akko however. Diana combed over the numbers slowly. The changes rendered the Moonlit Witch unable to change forms without items, and locked her into whatever form she picked if she did buy an item to start. Her massive level one advantage had vanished. The patch wouldn't be live for a few more hours though. She'd have time to play one game, if she wanted. She looked at her friends list, trying to see who to ask. Finally she spotted Boxer again. Who better to see how well she had done?

 

_DCavendis_ _h 5:23_

 

_Would you humour me for a 1v1?_

 

_Boxer 5:23_

 

_Depends._

 

_You play my girl yet?_

 

_DCavendish 5:23_

 

_Yes._

 

_Boxer 5:24_

 

_How'd she do?_

 

_DCavendish 5:24_

 

_She beat me 1v1. Then she lost in all of our scrims._

 

_Boxer 5:24_

 

_Ha! That's my girl :')_

 

_Why do you wanna play me?_

 

_DCavendish 5:24_

 

_I spent today trying to download Akko. I want to see if I managed it before the patch comes around._

 

_Boxer 5:25_

 

_Oh boy here we go. You're on._

 

They got into a game together, and started to play. Diana bought the same set of items Akko had, and moved out into the same position. She noticed she was floating 75 gold. Had Akko done that? Why didn't she buy another potion? Diana sighed. She knew better than to ask questions like that when seeing how well she'd picked up a new hero. The answers usually presented themselves through play. She swapped to Axe form, and waited for Boxer to walk into lane.

Boxer came with the minions, walking along a similar path to the one Diana had taken entering the lane. She waited for him(her?) to move too far into lane, and then stepped out, charging forward. Boxer fired off an auto-attack at her, before running back for the tower. He danced in a similar manner to how Diana had. Diana threw her Q. She connected with it, successfully knocking him up. Then she went to swap forms, much like Akko had. She missed the transition to move speed, and increased her mana instead, swapping back to Rod form. She didn't have time to notice her mistake, firing her next Q on instinct. It connected with Boxer, and shoved him backwards into the wall behind the tower, stunning him, but leaving him safe.

“Damnit.” Diana cursed softly. She'd lost the opportunity. So she swapped to AD, and focused on CS, and establishing lane dominance.

 

The game ended with a 2-0 kill win for Boxer. Diana didn't understand how Akko did it. She tried to follow the same patterns Akko had used, but Boxer expected almost every move she made, and perfectly shut her down.

 

_Boxer 5:32_

 

_Download Complete :)_

 

_GG tho._

 

Diana sighed, and smiled a little. Turnabout was fair play, she supposed.

 

_DCavendish 5:32_

 

_GG._

 

_How did I compare?_

 

_Boxer 5:33_

 

_I definitely saw one of Akko's moves in there._

 

_One._

 

_DCavendish 5:33_

 

_That bad?_

 

_Boxer 5:33_

 

_Nah, it's normal._

 

_A lot of people have tried to download her style. They usually only can pick up one side of it._

 

_DCavendish 5:34_

 

_Have you ever seen someone succeed?_

 

_Boxer 5:34_

 

_No :)_

 

_Why do you think I play against her?_

 

Diana frowned. She'd never found a player who's style she couldn't pick up. Players who were harder to pick up, certainly. But impossible? Never. But here was Boxer essentially saying it was. She didn't want to believe it. She sighed. The servers were going down for maintenance soon, as the new season got rolled out. She could worry about this problem later. With no way to keep practising, the best thing she could do is go and eat.

“Girls.” Diana called, as she stepped out into the living room. Both Barbara and Hannah were lounging around, looking at their phones. They looked up as Diana addressed them. “We should get dinner.” They looked over at each other and shrugged.

“Sure.” Barbara agreed.

“Sounds good.” Hannah added. They climbed to their feet, and the three of them headed to the door. They came out into the hallway behind the red team, who were also walking to the dining room. Akko stood in the middle, loudly talking about how cool the character spotlight had been. Had she even read the patch notes? Probably not. They were still wearing their uniforms, and Diana noticed Akko's skirt was far shorter than anyone else's. Of course she would disrespect the uniform like that.

“Hey, so can we go into town sometime?” Akko asked, as they approached the door.

“Finnelan said we can go in on the weekends.” Sucy replied.

“Awesome! Let's go in this weekend!” Akko announced. Of course she'd want to take time off immediately after arriving. The more Diana saw of Akko, the more convinced she became her invitation was a mistake. An understandable mistake. She was an anomaly. Anomalies sometimes turned out to be diamond's in the rough. Usually they were gimmick players that went no where. Diana sincerely doubted Akko was anything but the later.

“Hey Diana.” Hannah said softly.

“Hm?”

“Do you want to go into town too?” She asked. Diana thought about it for a moment. Would saying yes make her a hypocrite for looking down on Akko? It would be nice to take some time off. They'd been practising a lot for the past two weeks since arriving a few days after new years, and a bit of time off would be nice.

“I don't see why not.” Diana replied. “We don't need to push too hard while we're in the pre-season.” She wasn't being a hypocrite. She'd worked hard since arriving. Akko hadn't even been here for two days. It was completely different.

 

**\---URSULA---**

 

Ursula grimaced as she watched the match unfolding before her. It wasn't pretty. Akko and had team had started playing on ladder as soon as it opened, and Ursula had gone to spectate. When she'd read the patch notes she'd feared the worst. Somehow, what was happening with Akko was even worse than that. Ursula had been expecting Akko to misstep as she tried to work out her limitations. She'd expected to be watching kills escape because Akko didn't have the spells she thought she needed to secure them. She'd expected Akko to die, because she stayed in fights too long, counting on an answer she didn't have to save her. All of that happened.

But worse than that, Akko fed. The first game, she'd gone for a level 1 gank, with her usual item line up. When she didn't change forms, she seemed to panic, and ended up giving a kill to the enemy. Despite this, she didn't learn her lesson. She regularly went to make big plays. In the old patch, she would have secured a kill with each of them, but now she, at best, just made it an even trade. Usually she died though.

They were now on their third game, and Ursula could sense the tension in the other team as they played. The first game had been so decisive there was no chance for team fighting, but in the second game there was a clear effort. Lotte and Sucy would regularly jump in to try and save Akko's mistakes. They usually died for it, but one time they'd turned it around. Now, in the third game, they didn't. Ursula watched Sucy jungling, a single wall between her and Akko, who was getting killed by two enemies. Sucy did nothing to help. When the third game finally came to an end, Ursula opened a chat window to Akko.

 

_Wagandea 9:54_

 

_Do you need some help with the new Moonlit Witch?_

 

_Akko 9:54_

 

_you saw that? >_<_

 

_Wagandea 9:55_

 

_I was just checking up on my student. I saw your match history wasn't doing great._

 

_Akko 9:55_

 

_so...no?_

 

_good_

 

_some help would be good_

 

_i don't get it_

 

_Wagandea 9:55_

 

_Would you like to go to a practice room and watch me play a game? Would that help?_

 

Why had she offered that? Ursula glanced down at her hand, stretching it a few times. She was rusty, but she probably could still do it.

 

_Akko 9:55_

 

_yes plz :3_

 

_now?_

 

_Wagandea 9:55_

 

_We shouldn't_

 

_Akko 9:56_

 

_thats not no_

 

She was right. It wasn't.

 

_Wagandea 9:56_

 

_Okay. Practice Room 1._

 

_Akko 9:56_

 

_yes!_

 

Ursula sighed. They weren't supposed to be using practice rooms at this time of night. But Akko needed the help before her team started playing tomorrow. She threw on a jacket, and headed out the door. The team house was heated, but that didn't mean the halls didn't get cold at night. There was, after all, a large courtyard in the middle of the building, and the second floor was lined with windows which did little to keep the cold from creeping in. Ursula skipped down the stairs, and walked over to the practice rooms to find Akko waiting outside, bouncing on her heels.

“They're locked.” She explained, as Ursula arrived.

“I'm sorry, I should have warned you.” Ursula replied. She pulled a key from her pocket, and let them in. Akko let out a relieved sigh as they walked in.

“So warm!” She declared happily. Ursula smiled.

“Shall we get started?” She asked. Akko nodded. “Um, I apologise for the inconvenience, but do you have anyone I can play against?” Akko grinned.

“Yeah!” She replied. She threw herself into a chair, and started began to log on. Ursula sat beside her and followed suit. The patch would necessitate a change in her runes. She created a new page, and started putting them together. She needed to build her AD and AP very carefully, and so she played with her arrangement until it was perfect. She'd default to bow form, but a single AP item would push her into rod form again. From there she'd have the ability to flip between them until about level 5, when her stat gain would lock her into bow form. With her runes perfected, she leaned back.

“Are we ready?” She asked. Akko nodded.

“Um, what map should I pick?” She replied.

“Any map is fine.” Ursula answered. A moment later an invitation to a custom game popped up. It was on Ohana Beach. Ursula joined, and saw another person in the lobby already, someone named Boxer. She frowned.

 

_Wagandea: THE Boxer?_

_Boxer: HA! No, but thanks._

_Wagandea: So a fake Boxer. A Foxer._

_Boxer: Cute. I might use that actually._

_Akko: What are you talking about?_

_Boxer: Never mind. We good?_

_Wagandea: Y_

_Boxer: Cool. Gogo_

 

The match countdown started, and a second later they were in the picks phase. Ursula immediately picked Moonlit Witch, and settled on her new rune page.

“What runes do you usually run?” Ursula asked.

“Penetration runes mostly.” Akko answered. “A few gpm ones.” Ursula glanced at her. Seriously? Penetration runes?

“In every match up?” Ursula asked hesitantly, trying not to let her disapproval creep into her voice. Akko nodded. That was unbelievable. Back when she'd played seriously, Ursula had twenty different rune pages for the Moonlit Witch, each for a different sort of line up. They were often quite similar, with only a few subtle differences to help her succeed in a certain lane.

“Chariot said she ran a lot of penetration pages, so I figured all penetration runes were the best. But since I'm not great at farming I picked up gpm to help.” Akko explained. That was true, Chariot had said she ran a lot of penetration on her pages. She'd also mentioned a rune page that was just penetration. It was her meme page.

“I don't think Chariot meant to just run penetration.” Ursula said delicately. “Penetration is a good way to increase damage without adjusting your stats, but it's better to balance a rune page to keep your forms open.”

“What are you running?” Akko asked.

“A mixture of AD and AP.” Ursula replied. “I'll send you the page when we're done so you can copy it if you want.”

“Yes please!” Akko replied, grinning. Ursula smiled, and looked back at the screen. The loading screen for the match had started while they were talking. Ursula's face fell. Right. Ohana Beach. The map that forced every hero into the beach skin. She tried not to blush too hard as a rendition of her younger self in a bikini stared back at her. At least she kept the hat and cape. It could've been worse. Boxer was playing Trickster. Her skin at least looked nice.

 

The game started, and Ursula immediately bought an AP talisman, and two potions, one each of health and mana. She skilled up her W, and then started pressing against the side of the fountain, waiting to be released. It was an old habit she never kicked. While she waited she swapped her stats around with her R, bringing her back into bow form.

“Why'd you skill W? Isn't your Q better?” Akko asked.

“It can be.” Ursula replied. “But I'm limited to just bow and rod form, so the other spells don't matter. And most of your early game value in Q comes from your axe and hook form.” Akko nodded.

“I think I get it.”

“You will soon. Your W with this combination of forms lets you do a lot of powerful moves.” Ursula explained. She headed into lane, and sat under her tower. She didn't want to trade right now. She just wanted to play to the minions. The minion wave arrived, and she advanced with them. Boxer did the same. Ursula focused her eyes on the minions, sparing the occasional glance at Boxer. Trickster was an interesting hero. Her entire kit was built around deception and laying traps. Most people thought she was most dangerous when you couldn't see her. Ursula knew better.

Ursula carefully managed the enemy minions, spreading her damage across them, whittling them down until they were all low, before pulling back and aiming her W along the line of them. She fired, killing all three minions. One of them exploded, dealing damage to her minions too. As she'd suspected, Boxer had made a dummy minion. He'd been close to the arrow when it moved, and Ursula wasn't sure if she'd hit. Trickster's passive meant that she would see her health and mana as full, no matter what value they were.

It didn't really matter what her health was though. Ursula wasn't looking for a kill here. The second wave of minions approached, and Boxer ducked back into the fog, preventing Ursula from seeing where he placed a dummy minion, if he even did. She repeated the process from last time, just to be safe, weakening the melee minions, before using her W to clear them. No explosion. She moved up to clear the ranged minion. This one did explode when she last hit it, dealing a sizeable chunk of damage, and stunning her. Boxer went in immediately, using a flash powder to get on top of her, and began attacking. He'd bought an Ice Blade, meaning each attack slowed Ursula a small amount. Just enough to prevent her escaping back to tower.

Ursula immediately flipped her balanced to AP, switching to rod form, and cast her W on Trickster. She was turned into a harmless squirrel, and Ursula retreated back to the tower. The minions aggroed onto Boxer, and he was forced back. Ursula immediately activated her two potions.

“So that's why we take W.” Ursula began to explain to Akko, who was standing beside her, enraptured by the display on screen. “In rod form it's a powerful defensive tool to escape, while in bow form you can poke and harass them down.”

“That's so cool! I hadn't thought about that before!” Akko exclaimed. Ursula smiled at her.

“You'll have to start learning what parallel spells can create combinations like this, and then build around them. But I have faith you can do it. You already understand her kit after all.” Akko nodded.

“I will! Thanks Coach Ursula!” She replied.

“You're welcome.” Ursula said, focusing her attention back to the game.

 

The match was over fairly quickly. Ursula never bothered to skill her Q, just upgrading her W and E, until level 4 came. Then she simply charged down Trickster, using the crowd control and mobility offered by rod form, and the damage of bow form to secure the kill. She immediately stayed in lane until Trickster had almost respawned, before recalling to base, buying two talismans to keep her stats even, and returned to lane just as Trickster did. She didn't bother with any politeness. Instead she just ran Trickster down again, easily securing the kill and ending the match.

 

“That was so cool!” Akko declared. “You were so much like Chariot!” Ursula smiled nervously.

“Was I?” She asked. Akko nodded.

“Yeah! You played just like she did! But like, not quite as good.” Akko continued. Ursula laughed softly. Akko could be so blunt. “Not that you weren't good! I just, y'know.” She added quickly.

“It's okay Akko, I understand I'm not as good as Chariot.” Ursula replied. Not anymore, at least. “Did that help?” Akko nodded.

“Yeah! Could I start with E instead of W with that build?” She asked. Ursula nodded.

“It's a different approach, but yes, you could.” She answered. Akko grinned. It looked like she'd learnt the lesson at least. Akko turned her attention back to her computer. Ursula glanced over to see a message from Boxer. “What's he saying? It's okay if it's private, of course. I don't mean to pry.”

“You're not prying. He's talking about you.” Akko replied, pointing to the screen.

 

_Boxer 10:18_

 

_Jesus Fucking Christ._

 

_Who the fuck was that?_

 

_Akko 10:18_

 

_My coach :3_

 

_Boxer 10:18_

 

_Fuck_

 

_Why the fuck isn't she playing?_

 

_Akko 10:19_

 

_Dunno_

 

Akko looked up at her. “Why aren't you playing?” Ursula looked away.

“I just...decided it wasn't for me any more. The game changes all the time, and I didn't like the direction it was going.” She explained. It wasn't entirely a lie. There were a lot of changes she hadn't liked back then.

 

_Akko 10:19_

 

_Patch Witch_

 

_Boxer 10:20_

 

_Ha!_

 

“I am not a patch witch.” Ursula huffed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hero Profile for Trickster  
> Roles: Carry, Escape, Nuker
> 
>  
> 
> It's Jest a Prank!(Passive): Trickster has mastered the art of making everything seem harmless. Enemies cannot see Trickster's current mana or health.
> 
> Dummy Minion(Q): Trickster swaps a minion with a fake copy of itself. When killed, the dummy minion explodes, dealing damage and stunning all surrounding enemies.  
> Shadow Dance(W): Trickster jumps into the shadows, teleporting a short distance and turning invisible for a short duration. This duration does not count down while in bushes, or more than 1000 units from an enemy hero. Attacking brings the invisibility to an end, and deals bonus damage.  
> Surprise!(E): Trickster places a surprise in a bush. When an enemy enters the bush, they are stunned for 1 second. For the duration of this stun, Trickster may re-activate Surprise! to teleport to the stunned enemy, dealing damage in an area around them.  
> Seeing Double(R): Trickster creates an illusionary copy of herself. This copy may move independently of Trickster. Trickster may re-activate Seeing Double to teleport to her copies location, placing it in her current location, and immediately killing it. When Trickster's copy dies, it deals damage to all enemies around it's current location.
> 
>  
> 
> Poor Ursula. Bullied by her own students.


	6. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like it to be noted that, regarding the discussion near the end, as an Australian I am qualified to say that Akko is the most correct, followed by Lotte. Diana is completely incorrect.
> 
> Sorry if this one took a bit longer than usual, I had to take a bit of time away from writing while I stressed about getting work in for the end of the pay period. Next chapter gets SRS, and also a bit shorter, as I realized when I was writing a final section, I was just writing it to reach an arbitrary word count, not because it added to the story.
> 
> Finally, a definition for you:
> 
> Cheese - An off-the wall strategy that's designed to win on the back of being unexpected and putting your opponent in a position where they don't know how to react, rather than through a more legitimate out-skilling. Typically designed to close out games early, but doesn't have to be about that.

**\---AMANDA---**

 

Amanda huffed loudly. She was real fed up of losing to the stupid blue team. It was frustrating enough just playing them, but if they were cool about it like the red team she'd handle it. It was the fact they were all bitches about it when they won that pissed her off. Diana was probably the least bad of them. She didn't gloat, but she didn't celebrate either. She looked like her winning was the default state of being, with only a tiny, smug smile playing on her face to denote anything had happened. It was bitchy, but at least it was only low-key bitchy.

Barbara and Hannah however were the worst. They flashed her these smug grins, with a knowing, judging look in their eyes. Sometimes one would lean over to the other, and whisper something about the game just loud enough for her to hear, before laughing their haughty, snobbish laugh. They really pissed Amanda off. They were two days into the first week of practise, and already Amanda was considering quitting the team.

“How the fuck are we gonna stand a chance in the tournament?” Amanda asked loudly. She was flopped out on the couch in their living room. Jasminka was in the kitchen, preparing something to eat. Constanze was sitting on the floor in front of the table, working on something. She looked up at Amanda, and tapped the table aggressively. Amanda raised an eyebrow.

“What's this?” She asked. Constanze tapped the title of her paper. Amanda looked over to read it. Plan to defeat the blue team. Amanda smirked. This should be good. She shuffled around the table to sit on the ground behind beside Constanze to look over the plan. She was met with a pretty good map of Polaris Crater, covered in coloured arrows, explaining how the game, ideally, would play out. It had a bunch of contingency arrows added on, and it took a bit for Amanda to process what she was looking at. It was a pretty detailed plan for the first six minutes of the game, after which everything would be too up in the air to plan for.

“This is good Cons” Amanda remarked, as she started to make sense of the plan. It was real good. “Do you think you can come up with something for a couple other maps?” Constanze gave her a firm thumbs up. “Sick. Now we just have to practice this without them seeing.”

“Does that mean we're laddering?” Jasminka asked. Amanda nodded.

“Yeah. After you're done eating.” She said. “We'll grab some custom games if we don't get enough time on Polaris to try the strats.”

 

They were lucky, and got Polaris on their second game. Polaris Crater was one of the weirder maps in rotation, making use of the slide cliff mechanics. The two lanes ran around a central low ground area. Multiple parts of the cliff could be interacted with, allowing a hero in lane to slide down them, and into the crater. There was a rather narrow path that ran above the lanes, rigged with a ton of slide cliffs, allowing a hero to drop in from an ambush from almost any position in the lane.

The other key feature of the map was the Fountain of Polaris, a neutral objective that rested in the middle of the map. It sat in the middle of a pond, atop an elevated platform, that made attacking into it very difficult. Wards didn't work on the platform, forcing a team to face check it to see if it was safe. Going to the fountain was a risky prospect, but one well worth it. The fountain would occasionally activate, allowing one hero to channel it's power. If they pulled off a 15 second, uninterrupted channel, they were awarded with a powerful buff. It was risky, but it changed games, so someone went for it in nearly every game. The crater was designed very carefully to make denying either team access nearly impossible, meaning that a team that was behind could potentially sneak a hero out to the fountain to turn things around.

Amanda wasn't used to laning with someone. She'd typically played Shooting Star in a solo capacity, but she was technically classified as a support. Amanda just ignored her primary support skill in favour of her kill potential. And she did have a lot of kill potential. The plan called for her to play support to Constanze however, leaving Jasminka to lane solo. The first game was a disaster. They tried to execute on Constanze's combo, but Amanda messed up her call out, and Constanze wasn't in range to capitalise on the first attempt. That put them on the back foot, and try as they might, they couldn't pull it back.

They got Polaris again on their fifth game. This time went much smoother. Amanda paid enough attention to let Constanze know before she went in, and the kill was easily secured. At the six minute mark the first fountain activation happened. They'd just secured a kill a few seconds earlier, and it was easy for Amanda to dart down into the crater, snag the buff, and then use her E to jump back into lane just in time to secure another gank. The game was basically over after that. The back to back kills put the enemy on tilt, and it was easy to piece together a win.

 

_NoCause 10:44_

 

_That was sick Cons._

 

_Good job._

 

_SnipingWitch 10:44_

 

_:thumbsup:_

 

_NoCause 10:44_

 

_What map next?_

 

_SnipingWitch 10:45_

 

_Tower._

 

_NoCause 10:45_

 

_Aight. I'll let you hit it. I'm gonna chill for a bit._

 

 

**\---LOTTE---**

 

The past few days of practice had slowly but steadily gotten better. The night of pre-season had been the worst experience of Lotte's life, and she was starting to suspect Sucy might be right. But something happened between that night and practice the next day, as Akko returned with a whole new approach to the laning phase. She managed to hold her own quite competently, and even managed to beat Diana in lane one or two times. Unfortunately, she still wasn't capable of handling the late game, and they never won a practice game, but it was progress.

Laddering at night was much better by contrast. Their first few games had tanked their ELO, and once Akko started to get a grip on the lane they found themselves stomping most games. They'd placed into silver, better than Lotte feared, and quite easily climbed to gold before starting to hit a wall. The other teams at that level were well co-ordinated. Akko was not. That alone was enough to shut them out of most games.

Despite that, Lotte was feeling better about the team. There was no way they were going to win the Witches' Cup, or even do particularly well, but she thought they might stand a chance in the long term.

“We're gonna win the Witches' Cup!” Akko declared, as she barged out of her room. Lotte and Sucy looked up at her.

“Uh...what makes you say that?” Lotte asked carefully.

“Shiny Chariot won the cup while she was here! In her first year too! So I've got to win it too!” Akko announced. Of course that was the reason. Lotte smiled.

“Maybe we should set our expectations a little lower? Diana's team is masters, and we're only in gold.” Lotte said. “I mean, maybe we could win a game?”

“Nope! We're going to win the tournament!” Akko insisted. Sucy sighed.

“You know, I wouldn't mind winning either.” She said softly. Lotte looked over at her surprised.

“Really?” She asked. Sucy nodded. “Why?”

“It's an official tournament. So the winners get a tournament skin. I always wanted Silent Assassin's tournament skin.” She explained.

“It's settled then! We're going to win!” Akko continued. Lotte sighed. She wasn't likely to talk either of them down. But she could try.

“How are we going to win?” She demanded. “You barely know how to play in the late game, and none of us can work together! It's just not practical!” Akko hesitated, and visibly deflated a bit. Lotte immediately felt guilty. She knew she shouldn't. She was just being practical, and sparing Akko future disappointment.

“I...could practice more.” Akko replied. She took a moment, before nodding again. “Yeah, I just have to practice the late game more! Maybe coach Ursula could help me!”

“You have a week and a bit. I don't think you can catch up that quickly.” Lotte replied. Sucy cleared her throat.

“Maybe she doesn't have to?” She suggested. Lotte did not like where this was going. She didn't like it one bit.

“I don't have to?” Akko asked. Sucy shook her head.

“We just have to prepare a cheese plan.” She replied.

“That's not a solution!” Lotte argued. “We can't just cheese our way through tournaments!”

“But we can cheese our way through this tournament. It's only 3 matches.” Sucy insisted. Lotte looked between them. Akko looked incredibly enthusiastic about this plan. Lotte sighed.

“I don't think it will work. But I'll try.” She said. Akko's face immediately lit up. “But then we have to practice late game. A lot.” Akko nodded again.

“I will! I'll become the best late game player there is!” She replied. Lotte smiled. At least she was enthusiastic. “So uh, what's a cheese?”

 

They spent the rest of the night going over plans. Sucy had far too much knowledge about cheesing for Lotte's comfort. They went through the map list, drafting plan after plan. Sucy had to ask Akko for information about the Moonlit Witch for each one, but Akko had every answer ready at hand. Since the patch took place, she'd spent a lot of time working out how to achieve every combination of forms immediately. She'd prepared a rune page or two for each combination, most of which were really weird. Once they'd worked out a bunch of rough plans, they'd gone to bed for the night.

The next morning they got up early, and headed down to the bus stop.

“Why is it so cold?” Akko whined.

“It's winter.” Sucy replied. “It's supposed to be cold.” Despite her tone, Lotte could tell she wasn't too comfortable in the cold. Lotte didn't mind however, she'd rugged up. It wasn't even as cold as it could be back home.

“It sucks.” Amanda remarked. Akko nodded.

“Super sucks.” She agreed.

“I don't mind it.” Jasminka commented. Lotte smiled. It was nice that the green team got along so well with them. It was unfortunate that the blue team was standing so far away at the bus stop. Lotte could hear Barbara and Hannah laughing about Akko and Amanda complaining about the cold, just loud enough for it to carry to them. Despite that, she could see them both shivering a little. Diana at least was looking forward, ignoring them.

“What are you looking forward to Akko?” Lotte asked.

“Lunch!” Akko replied. Lotte smiled.

“Lunch?” She repeated back. She wasn't surprised.

“Yeah! I had fish and chips coming in and it was really good, so I wanted to get some more.” Akko explained. Amanda laughed.

“Is that the whole reason you wanted to go to town?”

“Not the whole reason!” Akko replied quickly. “I also didn't get a chance to look around, and I wanted to see what was in town.” Amanda nodded.

“Tell me about it. The schedule for getting in was shit, and then we've been working hard ever since.” She replied.

“Y'know, I felt like we'd be working harder.” Akko remarked. “I'd heard all about the 12 hour practice sessions at other team houses, but Ursula doesn't even let us go longer than 6. It's so weird.”

“And she makes us take a day off each week.” Amanda added. “I don't get it.”

“Of course you don't.” Diana's voice carried across the bus stop. “You don't know how to study effectively. Of course you'd think more practice is better.”

“The fuck do you mean by that?” Amanda demanded. Lotte sighed. At least Akko didn't pick fights like Amanda did.

“She means you're stupid.” Hannah added. Amanda scowled.

“I wasn't talking to you shorty.” She retorted. Hannah grit her teeth, and took a half step forward, but Diana cut her off with a sharp clearing of her throat.

“I simply meant that there are more effective ways to do anything than slamming your head against it.” Diana announced, giving Amanda a side-long glance. “Be it learning, or getting kills. Plus, this way we reduce our risk of injuring ourselves. Most e-sports players end up sacrificing their wrists for the craft. It seems coach Ursula is trying to save us from that fate. You should be grateful.”

“But...we ladder afterwards.” Akko said softly.

“She tries her best. It's not her fault if you decide to throw away the good work she does.” Diana continued.

“You ladder in the evenings too. Aren't you doing the same thing?” Amanda demanded.

“I take breaks, and perform stretches to avoid injury as much as possible.” Diana explained. “Besides, this isn't a career.”

“Then what is it?” Amanda asked. Diana turned her gaze back to the street, where the bus was now approaching.

“I don't have to explain myself to you.” She replied simply. Hannah stuck her tongue out at Amanda.

 

**\---HANNAH---**

 

“What did you mean by that?” Hannah asked, once they were off the bus, and away from the losers of the team.

“Mean by what?” Diana asked idly, her attention focused on one of the shops ahead.

“When you said this isn't a career.” Hannah reminded her.

“Oh, that.” Diana replied. “I simply mean I don't plan to spend more than a few years on this game. Or any game, for that matter.” That was the first Hannah had heard of it. She glanced over at Barbara. She seemed just as surprised by the news.

“Why is that Diana?” Barbara asked hesitantly. Diana led them inside the shop. It was a small cafe, and the three girls took seats. Once they were settled, Diana looked at them seriously.

“Because, as much as I love it, it is just a game. I have more serious responsibilities in my life to manage.” Diana answered.

“How uh...how long were you planning on playing?” Hannah asked.

“I was aiming for a championship.” Diana answered calmly. “I imagine it will take no more than three years to achieve it.” Hannah nodded. She shouldn't be surprised by this knowledge. E-sports careers weren't particularly stable. Even Magical Burst, with it's massive history, wasn't much better. The rotation format meant that a lot of players would appear for 2 years, and then vanish with their favourite hero. Players like Akko. Hannah smirked a little at the knowledge she wouldn't have more than 2 years. If she even managed to win anything before then, and didn't just run back to Japan crying.

But even with how unstable most careers were, Hannah had felt like she'd be here forever. Like she could rely on Diana and Barbara to have her back, and she'd have theirs. It was sad, hearing that maybe that wouldn't be the case. But she'd clearly been expecting too much. Glancing over at Barbara she could see she felt the same.

“We won't let you down Diana!” Hannah declared. Barbara nodded.

“Yeah. I mean, if Akko is getting invited to teams, maybe no one is even as good as we thought!” She added. Diana smiled at them.

“Thank you girls.” She replied, before turning her attention to the waitress who'd approached the table. They placed orders, and settled into silence. It was an awkward, uncomfortable silence.

“So how about the Witches' Cup! Do we think we're going to win?” Barbara asked.

“I'm not sure. I don't know what to expect from the older teams.” Diana replied. “However I'm quite confident we can handle the red and green teams.”

“I'd hope so.” Hannah said. “They can barely keep up in practice.”

“That doesn't mean they won't have something prepared in the tournament.” Diana cautioned. “I imagine they're both keeping an eye on how to beat us.”

“Of course they are.” Barbara declared. “What else would they aim for?” Diana smiled, and nodded.

“We should prepare our preferred team compositions.” Diana announced. “Just to be sure. It would be awfully embarrassing to not prepare anything, and losing a game to one of them.”

“What heroes do you want to play Diana?” Barbara asked.

“Ancient Witch is my favourite, but I don't know how well she'll fit into our team compositions.” Diana replied. “I suppose I'd like to play Empress, Duellist, Crimson, Gravity Queen and Soulseeker.” Hannah nodded. Diana had just listed half the carries. Hannah shouldn't be surprised. Jungling wasn't really their thing, as a team. Hannah and Barbara were just too good at synergising in lane. Diana had once remarked they could find a combo to pull off with any two heroes. It was one of the few compliments that Hannah cherished.

“I'd like to play a bit of Empress.” Hannah announced.

“Anyone else?” Diana asked.

“Rapture Ranger, obviously. And Calamity and Marksman.” Hannah added. She liked her ranged carries too much, and she hoped Diana wouldn't judge her or be upset. But she just nodded.

“What about you Barbara?” Diana asked.

“Gravity Queen looks fun. I'd like to keep playing Weeping Widow and Fallen Angel, and picking up Lightwarden would be good.” Barbara answered. Hannah nodded. It figured she'd pick two healers. Gravity Queen was a bit of an unusual choice. She was a hybrid, capable of both supporting and carrying.

“We can work with this. A bit of overlap in our hero pools will keep us flexible in the picks.” Diana remarked. “Shall we start piecing together compositions?” Hannah smiled, as their tea arrived, and they started discussing how they could combine the heroes they wanted to play. Despite their earlier talk about things coming to an end, in this moment, she had everything she wanted, and she was happy with it.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

“Vinegar?” Akko asked sceptically as she stared at Sucy's box of chips. Sucy nodded.

“It's delicious. One of the few good things here.” She replied. Akko had her doubts. Despite that, Constanze was eating the same quite happily. It was weird.

“It's gross.” Amanda declared. She, like Akko, had chosen correctly, and slathered tomato sauce all over her fish and chips.

“Yeah.” Akko agreed.

“Better than drowning it in tomato.” Sucy retorted. “Do you want some chips with that?” Lotte let out a very soft snort, before immediately recovering her neutral smile.

“Hey! We're not that bad!” Amanda protested. Sucy just stared at her, picking out a chip and shoving it in her mouth. Akko smiled, and started laughing. Something about the image was just so silly, she couldn't help it.

“What's up?” Amanda asked her.

“Nothing!” Akko replied, flopping back into the grass to stare at the sky. She hadn't even been here for a week, and she'd already made a bunch of friends. She was playing the game she loved. Playing the hero she loved. For the team she dreamed of playing for. Everything was great. She sat back up. And the food was good, she added to the list of good things as she picked out another chip and ate it. “So what do you think Lotte? Vinegar or tomato sauce?” Lotte looked very reluctant to answer.

“I um...prefer gravy.” She said softly.

“Get out.” Amanda demanded.

“It reminds me of home!” Lotte protested. Amanda hesitated, and sighed.

“We're never gonna resolve this.” She declared. “None of us are even English.”

“Sucy. Let me try one of yours.” Akko asked.

“Why?”

“So we can resolve this!” Akko insisted. Amanda cocked an eyebrow, and smirked. She glanced over at Sucy, and nodded a little. Sucy caught her eye, and her initial hesitation melted away.

“Help yourself.” Sucy replied, offering the box to Akko. Akko took one, and put it in her mouth. She immediately regretted that decision. It was gross. She spat it out onto the grass, while Amanda and Sucy laughed.

“That's gross!” Akko protested. “Why did you let me do that?”

“You asked for it.” Sucy told her. Akko hesitated. She was right.

“Do you want to try one of mine?” Lotte offered. Akko grabbed it without a thought and shoved it in her mouth. The gravy chip was actually pretty good. Not as good as tomato sauce, but still good.

“That's better.” Akko declared.

“You couldn't even stomach the vinegar. I don't think that really resolves anything.” Amanda declared. Akko nodded. She was, unfortunately, right.

“Well...if none of us are British which is the problem then...” Akko started the thought, trailing off as she spotted Diana, Barbara and Hannah walking along the main road. She jumped to her feet and raced off towards them. She could hear Amanda jogging behind her. Akko came to an abrupt stop in front of them, and doubled over to catch her breath.

“Akko?” Diana asked, surprised. Akko stuck a finger in the air while she caught her breath, before standing up.

“We have an important question for you!” Akko declared. Diana looked at her skeptically. “For all of you.” She added quickly, glancing at Barbara and Hannah. For once they looked more curious than angry at her. That was nice.

“Which is?” Diana asked.

“Tomato sauce, gravy or vinegar. What do you put on chips?” Akko asked.

“Toma-” Hannah started to answer, before cutting herself off abruptly.

“Gravy.” Barbara replied.

“Vinegar.” Diana said. The three girls all looked at each other, a little surprised by the answers.

“Really Hannah? Really?” Barbara demanded. Hannah actually looked ashamed.

“I just like it, okay?” She replied. Diana looked at them both, seemingly quite disturbed by their answers. Then she turned back to Akko.

“Why do you ask?” She asked.

“Oh, we were arguing about it.” Akko explained. “So uh, thanks for letting us know there isn't a real answer.”

“Yes there is. It's vinegar.” Diana replied. Her tone tilted in a way that Akko hadn't heard before. Like she was actually teasing.

“Uh huh. Sure.” Akko said, as she backed up. “Convince them first.” She nodded to Barbara and Hannah, before turning and running off laughing. Amanda caught up with her, and they walked back to the others.

“I can't believe Hannah said tomato sauce.” Amanda declared. Akko laughed.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Diana flopped onto her bed, and stared at the ceiling thinking. The day had been pretty good, if a little heavy. She'd never spoken with anyone about her plans regarding her career before, and she could tell the girls were disappointed by the news. In truth, so was she, but it couldn't be avoided. As a Cavendish, there were certain expectations she had to meet. For one thing, there was the matter of the family estate. It was currently under the management of her aunt, Daryl, though that couldn't last forever. Under her management it'd fallen to be a mere shadow of what it once was. She had considered abandoning her dream entirely, and assuming the mantle immediately after her 18th birthday.

Instead, she'd been convinced by Anna to give it a little of time. Just one try at joining Luna Nova. Diana had resisted at first, but after discussing it, she realised it was the best choice. The Cavendish name was already losing it's lustre, and her taking over so young wouldn't help that any. There was a reputation among the family for achieving excellence in whatever they turned their focus to. Daryl, it seemed, had turned her focus to desecrating the treasures of the family. Without an achievement to pin to her name, Diana likely wouldn't be taken seriously. As a Magical Burst champion however, she would have an achievement under her belt. And on the path to getting there, she'd inevitably make connections and win prize money. With luck, it would be enough to give her a head start on repairing what had been ruined.

Despite knowing it was the correct decision, Diana couldn't help but feel like she was a disappointment sometimes. There were other expectations as the heiress of the Cavendish family. Ones she wasn't able to fill. She was expected to marry a young man from an equally powerful family. She was expected to have children with that man, to ensure the family legacy continued. She was expected to be a proper lady. Unfortunately for Diana, she was very gay. Which meant that there would be no marrying of young men from powerful families. No being a proper lady to her peers. Children, at least, she could find a solution to. The marvels of modern technology.

She at least tried not to make the problem worse than it already was. She'd steered clear of romance, feigning that she was simply disinterested in the whole thing. That was probably the biggest lie she'd ever told. When she lay in bed late at night, with nothing to distract her from her thoughts, she found herself drifting back to a simple fact. She was lonely, and she didn't know how much longer she could take it. Neglecting her desires for love, for sex, for companionship, wasn't healthy. She knew this. She knew eventually she would have to do something to fix it.

But for now, it could wait. She wouldn't even know where to find a girlfriend if it couldn't. Outside of Barbara and Hannah, she didn't really have any friends, and they were very definitely off limits. Even if they weren't, she didn't find them particularly attractive. Though, she wasn't sure what she found attractive.

Unbidden, the image of Akko walking in front of her with the disrespectfully short skirt flashed into her mind. That, she conceded to herself, she might find attractive. It was just a shame the girl in question was such a stubborn idiot. Diana could never see herself with her. It just, wouldn't work. Akko was far too oblivious, far too stupid, far too brash, and reckless. Too dangerous and inappropriate, really. Diana put the idea aside, and rolled on her side. Besides, Akko was probably straight. And even if she wasn't, with how Barbara and Hannah treated her, she'd never see Diana as anything but the bitch who the other bitches look up to.

Except she'd come running over to them today. There was no resentment in her eyes. A little bit of caution, perhaps, but no ill-will. Just genuine curiosity. Yes, it was probably the most banal question she could have ever asked, but she had sought them out to ask it. Perhaps Akko didn't think as poorly of her as she feared.

Diana rolled on her side, and pulled her phone out from under her pillow.

 

_Diana 12:34_

 

_I have a serious question._

 

_Hannah 12:34_

 

_What is it?_

 

_Diana 12:34_

 

_Tomato Sauce? Really?_

 

_Hannah 12:34_

 

_Oh my god drop it. Please._

 

Diana smiled. She was glad that after the tense way things had been earlier, things seemed to be back to normal. She didn't want the fact she would be leaving eventually to loom over her time here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hero profile for Loyal Defender  
> Roles: Support, Durable, Initiator
> 
> Stand Together!(Passive): All allies who have less HP than Loyal Defender within a large radius of her receive bonus armour. This bonus gets larger, the bigger the health difference.
> 
> Bulwark(Q): Loyal Defender gains a shield against incoming damage. No damage instance that hits the shield can damage Loyal Defender's HP.  
> Shield Shove(W): Loyal Defender shoves her shield forward, pushing back all targets in her way, and damaging slowing them for a few seconds.  
> Share the Burden(E): Loyal Defender shoulders some of her allies troubles. Damage taken by the target ally is split evenly between them and Loyal Defender for a short period of time.  
> Face Me!(R): Loyal Defender issues a challenge to the enemy team, taunting all enemies within a radius around her, forcing them to attack her.


	7. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't *think* there's anything in here to really define. I hope you all enjoy! Sorry it's a bit on the short side, we're getting into REAL GAMES now, and I felt like any more added to this chapter would just take away from it. Given I did the whole game the day after finishing this and it came out to being half the chapter (with a LOT of skipping) I think I made the right call cutting this one short.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy! The game is (very slowly) coming together, and soon I won't have anything more to explain, which will be nice.
> 
> And yes, I do know the lines are uneven. I decided I don't care enough to fix it, and it adds to the ~realism~

**\---URSULA---**

 

Ursula sighed. Her teams had been practicing all day, and she felt like they'd achieved nothing. None of them were putting their best forward, and she had a suspicion as to why. The Witches' Cup was on next week, and they'd be playing against each other in it. As well as five other Luna Nova teams. But she knew from experience they wouldn't be thinking about that. The red and green teams were asking how they'd beat the blue team, and the blue team wanted to keep something secret from the others, so they wouldn't know what to plan for. It was less than ideal, and as their coach, it was Ursula's responsibility.

“Girls, we're done for today.” She announced.

“But we've only been going for four hours...” Akko protested softly. Ursula took a deep breath, and smiled.

“I know, but I need to speak with you all about something.” She answered. “And I don't think you'll make much more progress if I don't.”

“What is it?” Amanda asked, spinning on her chair idly. Ursula walked around to stand in front of the white board, and cleared her throat.

“It's about the upcoming tournament.” Ursula announced. “You'll all be competing against each other, as I can tell you're all aware.” She paused, watching as the less subtle girls glanced around. “I can tell, because you're all shying away from showing each other your best sides. I know you're all probably planning to practice to beat each other immediately after practice tonight.” Akko and Amanda looked particularly guilty. Barbara and Hannah both were looking smug, but Ursula could see a tiny hint of guilt on their faces as well.

“Well yeah, but what else are we supposed to do?” Amanda asked. “We can't let the blue team see our triple jungler strats.” Hannah glanced over at Amanda suspiciously. Amanda returned her look with a knowing smirk. Ursula was impressed. She hadn't expected Amanda to be quite so good at mind games.

“Of course you can't. So you'll each prepare three tight team compositions for the other teams.” Ursula announced. “And I'll arrange some practice partners for you to play with each night to prepare for each other. Is that acceptable?”

“I think that would be for the best, yes.” Diana announced. She turned her gaze to Amanda and Akko. “I'm sure no one will disagree.” Amanda sighed loudly.

“Yeah, sure, that works. It's all gravy. Or vinegar, I suppose.” Amanda said. She paused to flash a smirk at Diana. Ursula had no idea what this was about, but there was probably a story behind it. She might question Akko later, if she thought it mattered.

“Excellent. So, let's get to work planning out your compositions.” Ursula declared, picking up a black marker for the board, and splitting it into three columns.

“You may as well just write the Moonlit Witch in for all three of the red team's compositions.” Barbara declared. “It's not like Akko will pick anything else.” Ursula smiled, and picked up the red marker, doing just that. Then she added a bracket behind each one.

“Akko, do you have any idea which builds you'll be running?” Ursula asked.

“Uh...the W one? With the rod and bow?” Akko asked hesitantly. Ursula nodded.

“Pokewitch” She declared, as she wrote it into the brackets. “And what are you going to run with that?” Barbara and Hannah looked very confused. Ursula did her best to suppress the satisfaction she felt at seeing them get shown their mistake. Akko's hero pool was shallow, that was true. But it was very wide, which was, in Ursula's opinion, just as good. Maybe even better.

Depth was good, until you found someone who's style countered yours. Wide helped prevent that. Most people were only one or the other. The only exception to that rule at Luna Nova right now was Diana. But she had her own problems, which Ursula wanted to try and confront eventually.

The red team all looked at each other awkwardly. They hadn't thought about this yet. This was going to be an ordeal.

 

Ursula looked at the heroes listed on the board. They'd struggled a bit at first getting the concept of a tight line up down, but after the hour or so of discussion, they'd worked it out. She was surprised to see that Diana actually gave some suggestions to the red and green team. She was even more surprised that they were listened to by the red team.

 

**Red Team Green Team Blue Team**

 

**Akko – Moonlit Witch(W)                   Amanda - Shooting Star               Diana - Gravity Queen**

**Lotte – Fallen Angel                          Jasminka – Titanium Maiden         Barbara – Fallen Angel**

**Sucy - Trickster** **Constanze – Magic Marksman       Hannah – Empress**

 

**Akko – Moonlit Witch(** **Broom** **)** **Amanda – Shooting Star               Diana - Empress**

**Lotte – Shooting Star** **Jasminka – Loyal Defender           Barbara – Lightwarden**

**Sucy – Crimson Lady                       Constanze – Calamity Cowgirl      Hannah – Rapture**

 

**Akko – Moonlit Witch(Axe/Hook)     Amanda – Soulseeker                 Diana – Dancing Duelist**

**Lotte – Loyal Defender                     Jasminka – Nature's Wrath          Barbara – Gravity**

**Sucy – Sorrow Demon                      Constanze – Curious Inventor    Hannah – Calamity**

 

“So, does this look good to you?” Ursula asked, looking over the group. The girls all nodded. “And no ones secret plans are being ruined?” Everyone shook their heads again. “Good. Now, we've got time for a few more games, so we'll do one more round, while I try and find you partners for this evening.”

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

The team Ursula had arranged for the red team were pretty nice, Akko thought. The team captain, Avery, had been initially disdainful of her only playing the Moonlit Witch, but after their fourth game she'd changed her tune. They played a few standard games the first night to establish a base line. Avery's team was better, sitting about on par with the blue team. Once they'd established that, they tried a single game to practice the cheese. It was a total disaster.

The next day was spent practicing the three core compositions each team was playing. They'd run a few games in the same match-ups, then rotate them. The knowledge that they wouldn't be using these compositions against each other was freeing. They all got more reckless and experimental, pushing what they could do with the compositions as far as they could.

Akko would dive in deep to secure kills, confident that Lotte would scoop her back to safety in time when she was on Shooting Star. When Sucy played Trickster they tried having her jungle, letting her rotate out into the lane to prepare minion traps at random intervals. The first time they tried it they'd actually secured a kill on Diana. That only worked once, but the looming threat of it forced Diana to hang back and play cautiously.

The other teams started to stretch their wings too. The week of practice during the day transformed them all, and by the end of the week Akko felt like they could beat anyone else. The late night practices with Avery had gone better as the week progressed too. They managed to refine their plans, and improve on the cheesy builds, until eventually they could consistently pull out wins from the other team when they played along. They obviously knew all the tricks, but for the sake of practice they played it like a normal game until the strategies began. Occasionally they'd mix it up, and would move to hard counter the plans. That usually succeeded, but one time even when prepared they lost to the ridiculous plans Sucy had devised.

Finally, it was friday evening, and the Witches' Cup brackets were announced. It was posted on a board in the middle of the courtyard. That seemed needlessly archaic to Akko, but it was an excuse to get people into the courtyard, so she wouldn't complain too much. Most of the teams were gathered around when it was posted, all trying to see who they were up against.

Akko hopped, trying to see over the crowds.

“You're not going to see anything.” Sucy remarked. “Just wait your turn.”

“I can't wait! I need to know when we're going to beat up Diana!” Akko insisted.

“Never, obviously.” Barbara declared. The blue team was standing only a few feet away, waiting their turn to look as well.

“If that's your goal in the tournament, you should just give up now.” Hannah added with a shrug. Akko stuck her tongue out at them.

“We're going to win this! Just like Shiny Chariot did!”

“That explains why you're still a one-trick.” Barbara remarked.

“If you played anything else you wouldn't be able to keep saying that after all.” Hannah finished the thought. Despite the fact they were still being mean, Akko had noticed their tone shifting over the week. They obviously still didn't like her, but there was slightly less bite in their insults.

“Akko, look!” Lotte called, giving Akko a nudge. Akko looked forward to see that they could finally check the brackets. They all stepped forward and peered at the chart. The first round saw the red team playing against Avery's team. Akko groaned.

“I don't wanna fight them...” She whined.

“Why not?” Sucy asked.

“Because! I wanted them to do well!” Akko replied.

“I think you should be more worried about you doing well.” Hannah remarked.

“Have you even won a practice game against them?” Barbara asked.

“We won a lot of them.” Akko replied.

“I'm curious to see how that match goes.” Diana said abruptly.

“You are?” Barbara asked. Diana nodded.

“They've played each other a lot, but both of them weren't playing their usual styles. I imagine it would make for an interesting match.” She explained.

“I guess.” Hannah conceded grumpily.

“Best of luck.” Diana said, turning to look at Akko. “You'll need it if you want to face us.” She turned, and headed back for the dorms, leaving Akko to stare blankly at her.

“Huh?”

“Look at the bracket.” Sucy said. Akko looked at the bracket. It took a second for her to work it out. If they won, they'd be against another of the older teams, or the green team. They'd have to get to the finals to even stand a chance of seeing Diana. And that's assuming the blue team won all of their games. Akko was pretty sure they would though. She'd overheard some of the teachers talking about Diana. They all thought she was the best player here. She'd just have to show them how wrong they were!

 

**\---SUCY---**

 

They spent the weekend practicing on the ladder. Having to fight Avery's team completely changed the dynamic. Everyone the team could practice with were also people they were supposed to be preparing for. Overall the practice went well. Sucy didn't think they could actually win most of the time, but Akko's enthusiasm was frustratingly infectious, and she occasionally caught herself thinking they could. She quickly reined her expectations in when that happened. Despite all of the improvements they'd made, they still had one big problem. Akko didn't follow any one's lead. She ignored every attempt to make a call, and went in or fell back entirely on her own whim. They'd tried talking to her about it, which always got a sheepish apology, and a promise to try and do better, but the next game she did it again.

“We need to do something about Akko.” Sucy declared, as she and Lotte sat in the living room on Sunday night. Lotte nodded sadly.

“I don't know what we can do though…” She replied. “We've already tried talking to her so many times.”

“Maybe, we don't talk to her.” Sucy suggested. Lotte looked at her confused. “Did you ever play solo on the ladder?”

“A little...” Lotte answered.

“Do you remember what you did about that one person who'd never group up with the team?” Sucy asked. Lotte paused, thinking. Then she smiled.

“Oh!” She exclaimed. Sucy nodded.

“Right, so we just do that with Akko. Easy.” Sucy said. It was an easy fix. A stupid fix, sure. But with the tournament starting tomorrow, it was the best they could do.

 

The next day they made their way to the main hall, where the tournament was taking place. The room had been re-arranged, with two small stages set up at the far end. They each carried a soundproof booth, with three desks and computers set up inside them. The TV was currently set up to display the tournament brackets. The first match was the red team against the violet team.

“Great, we're up first.” Sucy remarked. “I can go back to our room soon.”

“Sucy!” Akko protested. “We've gotta watch the others!”

“Why? We won't learn anything.”

“Because, we need to support our friends!” Akko insisted. Sucy sighed.

“Whatever. When do we get in the booth?”

“It looks like they're waiting for us now.” Lotte said, nodding to where Ursula was standing in the corner. She waved as they looked over at her.

“Let's get this over with.” Sucy declared. They headed over, and Ursula let them into the booth.

“This is a best of one girls, so we need you to sort out map bans. That's the captain's responsibility.” Ursula explained once they were all seated.

“Who's our captain?” Sucy asked. “We were never told.” Ursula paused, and blushed a little.

“O-oh, of course! I'm sorry, I just, it must have slipped my mind. Akko is the team captain.”

“Me?” Akko asked. Sucy should have been surprised. Or upset. Maybe even outraged. But she wasn't. She'd just come to expect things to go wrong when it came to Akko.

“Yes, you.” Ursula replied. Akko smiled.

“Alright! I'll message Avery and work out bans!” She announced, spinning to face her computer.

“Make sure to ban Polaris.” Sucy said.

“I will!” Akko replied. Sucy leant over to watch.

 

_Akko 10:04_

 

_Hey!_

 

_We need to do map bans right?_

 

_Who's first?_

 

_Avery 10:04_

 

_You._

 

_Akko 10:05_

 

_Okay! We ban Polaris Crater!_

 

_Avery 10:05_

 

_Rastavan_

 

_Akko 10:05_

 

_Arcturus Tower_

 

_Avery 10:06_

 

_Fruitland_

 

Akko cursed softly at this one. Sucy was also a little disappointed. The fruit theme wasn't great, but there was a small mushroom-centric part of the map she liked.

 

_Akko 10:06_

 

_Arcturus Forest_

 

_Avery 10:06_

 

_Ohana_

 

“Why does she hate the fun maps?” Akko whined. “So that means we're playing on Blue Moon Abyss, right?”

“That's right. We'll get it set up and invite you all in.” Ursula said. “Best of luck girls!”

“Thanks coach Ursula!” Akko called, as Ursula stepped outside. They sat for a few minutes, waiting for the invitation. Lotte and Sucy waited patiently. Akko bounced in her chair. Outside the booth the rest of Luna Nova was getting settled in. Sucy didn't recognize most of them, but she did notice that Diana was sitting up front, and Amanda was relaxing near the back, both accompanied by their teams. Finally the invitation to the game popped up, and they all joined the lobby. It took a second to shuffle the teams around, and then they started the match.

“How does this work?” Akko asked as soon as they got into hero selection. Sucy sighed.

“Unbelievable.” She muttered. Lotte and leaned over.

“You get to make the first blind pick. Once you and Avery have both picked, they're revealed, and we start drafting.” Lotte explained. Akko nodded, and immediately picked Moonlit Witch. No surprises there. They sat for a minute, waiting for Avery.

Then her pick was revealed. She'd selected White Wraith. That was a problem. In all of their practice, they hadn't actually faced a team that jungled. The violet team got the first pick, and selected Time's Keeper. Then the picks came back to Akko. They'd have to pick their full team composition, and then give the violet team last pick.

“Who should we pick?” Akko asked.

“Um, maybe we run the third composition?” Lotte suggested. Sucy nodded. It was their best bet. A single strong duo lane to push an early advantage.

“I agree.” Sucy said.

“What's the third composition again?” Akko asked.

“Pick Sorrow Demon.” Sucy snapped. Akko did so.

“And then Loyal Defender, right?” She asked. Sucy nodded.

“That's right.” She said. Akko picked Loyal Defender, and the initiative swapped back to the violet team. They sat waiting for a solid minute, while they decided. Finally, they locked in Exalted Equestrian, and the game advanced to hero selection. Sucy turned back to her computer, and grabbed Sorrow Demon. This was going to be fun.

 

The game started, and Sucy looked over the items. It wasn't much of a choice. She picked up the AD talisman and two health potions, before leveling up her E. Sorrow Demon was an interesting sort of carry. Her E increased her attack damage when her allies took damage, making her incredible at turning around a lost fight. Loyal Defender's ability to give herself shields made the combination of them quite powerful.

The three headed out into the middle of the map. Blue Moon Abyss was a fairly standard map in terms of lanes. It's jungle however was very strange. The amount of trees and bushes throughout the jungle was far less than in most other maps. Only Ohana Beach had less trees. The corridors of the jungle were the real draw of the map. They were all rather tight, and claustrophobic, with lots of sharp turns that made seeing too far ahead difficult.

The core objective of the map, the Blue Moon Spirit, was also quite unique. It was a boss monster that spawned in at around the three minute mark, and wandered the jungle. Unlike most other bosses, neither team knew where it was unless they actually saw it, and it was always aggressive, picking fights with any hero it saw. Sucy had seen several team fights come to abrupt ends when the spirit wandered into them, and simply wiped both teams. For that reason, most teams avoided fighting in the jungle when the spirit was alive.

The team was currently sitting in a bush, waiting to see what the lanes were. Sucy and Lotte were going to lane against Avery on Exalted Equestrian to try and lock her out of the game, or force the lanes to rearrange. There was also a small change that someone would walk past the bush, and give them a free kill, as Akko was presently in hook form.

No one came though, and as the minions arrived in lane, the layout was made clear. Avery was in the top lane, while Blair had taken Time's Keeper in the bottom lane.

“Good luck.” Lotte said, as they split up and headed for their lanes.

“Like we need it.” Akko replied confidently. Sucy and Lotte headed deeper into the map, and looped around to enter the lane on Avery's side. It was a bold move, but one they'd practised several times. As they approached, Lotte activated her shield, and headed straight for the tower. It immediately aggroed onto her, and fired a single shot. The damage removed the shield, and slightly bruised Lotte. The damage was negligible, but the buff it gave Sucy was worth it. They both focused on Avery, who immediately retreated from the lane.

Exalted Equestrian was fast, and Avery had put a point into her dash, letting her easily get over them and under the safety of the tower. They didn't push their luck. Lotte hung out behind Avery's minions, guarding the CS against any attempt she might make to take it, while Sucy very carefully focused on last hitting. She tried to leave every hit as late as possible, to prevent the lane from pushing out too hard. CS under tower was hard, but CS in a lane you weren't in was harder.

Avery wasn't completely shut out however. Lotte was doing a good job zoning her out, but Loyal Defender and Exalted Equestrian were both melee heroes, so there was a limit to how much they could do to each other. Avery stayed close, carefully avoiding getting close enough for Sucy to punish her, but still managing to soak up experience.

 

Exalted Equestrian hit level two before them. Almost immediately as she hit the level up, Mary's White Wraith slipped into the lane behind them.

“Which way?” Lotte asked. Sucy wasn't too sure. The safest place was under their tower, but they'd have to go through Mary for that. The alternative was going down, through the jungle and around. Blair might cut them if they did that though.

“Back to tower.” Sucy replied, turning back. Lotte was a step behind her. Mary moved straight for Sucy, and landed her Q. It was a rather weak attack modifier, that carried a nasty slow. Sucy turned and swung back. She wasn't going to be making any progress like this. She stood a small chance of just out-fighting Mary though, and she was going to take it.

Lotte took a moment to notice the fight that was happening, but she immediately changed direction, running down to join Sucy. Her shield wouldn't do them much good in this fight unfortunately. Avery came up behind them, dashing into the fight, and activating her Q. The horse stomped, stunning Lotte and Sucy. Lotte immediately activated her shield when the stun ended, and they both started running again. Exalted Equestrian's Q would stun them three times total. If they were lucky they might make it back to the tower before the last one went off.

The horse stomped again. Sucy's HP was low. She wouldn't make it. But she had a lot of stacks off her E now.

“We're fighting.” Sucy announced. As soon as the stun wore off she attacked White Wraith. It chunked her HP for a lot. One more attack should be enough to secure the kill. Mary realised it too, as she turned and started retreating, leaving Avery to clean up. Sucy threw the attack, and was immediately stunned again. She watched her attack fly through the air. Then Avery hit her, and she was dead.

 

**Avery has slain MushroomMistress for First Blood**

**MushroomMistress has slain Yano**

 

It wasn't great, but at least they'd traded.

“We tried.” Lotte said.

“Could've been better.” Sucy grumbled. “Akko, how are you doing?”

“Good!” Akko replied.

 

**Akko has slain Blairr**

 

“Well that's something.” Sucy conceded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hero Profile for Sorrow Demon  
> Roles: Carry, Durable
> 
> Sadism(Passive): Sorrow Demon gains an additional 50% of all lifesteal effects. Status effects inflicted by Sorrow Demon last 50% longer.
> 
> Feast of Fear(Q): Sorrow Demon links herself with a target, engaging in a psychic feast on their fears. All characters attacking the target have life steal and spellvamp against them. Punishment bonus damage is doubled against the target.  
> Affliction of Guilt(W): Sorrow Demon cries with anguish, filling her foes with guilt for their actions. Enemy heroes within a wide area suffer minus armour, based on the amount of damage they've dealt to heroes recently.  
> Punishment(E): Any time an allied hero takes damage near Sorrow Demon, she gains punishment stacks based upon the damage inflicted. These stacks decay over time. Sorrow Demon gains AD based on the amount of Punishment stacks she possesses.  
> Share the Pain(R): Sorrow Demon highlights an allied hero to share their pain with her foes. All enemy heroes within a radius of the chosen hero take damage equal to the damage inflicted on the chosen hero. This reflected damage is split evenly between all enemy heroes, and is calculated based on damage before damage reduction is applied.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this one took so long everyone! The next chapter is a big meaty chunk of game, and it's shockingly hard to write nothing but a game without feeling like it's getting bogged down and boring. Hopefully as I develop out more of the rules of the game, it'll get easier to write for, but for the moment you will just have to bare with me.
> 
> And yes, I did see everyone's comments, and I do still love you all, I just...didn't have anything to say this time. In a break from tradition, there'll be some additional notes at the bottom to avoid spoiling anything important.
> 
> And for those of you wondering yes, Exalted Equestrian IS a nod to our beloved spectralbones, who is absolutely welcome to make requests regarding the hero before she's too set in stone.
> 
> And I suppose everyone else can throw suggestions out there for other hero abilities too while you're at it.

**\---AKKO---**

 

Time's Keeper was a tricky opponent. Her entire kit was built around tricks and displacement. Akko was lucky that Blair had skilled her Q first. It was, ultimately, a farming tool. A long duration, short cooldown debuff that dealt the killing blow when the target got low. A perfect tool to secure last hits, but near useless in a fight.

So when Akko hit level two, she went for it. It was an easy kill, hook Blair in, root her with the W, swap to the Axe form to break her armour, then knock her up with the Q. It didn't quite kill her, but by the time Blair had activated her E to try and gain some space, it was too late, she was already dead.

The E sent Akko back to behind her minions, though the instance effecting Blair vanished. It was an interesting ability that sent everyone in it's radius back to where they were two seconds ago. A powerful tool for preventing escapes, or denying fights, but not one that served much purpose against burst. The effect had too long of a delay on it.

Akko immediately purchased a mana potion and had the courier ferry it out. Sucy had just died, so they wouldn't need it for a bit. While she waited, Akko focused on securing the CS in the lane. Blair's spell was still in effect on half of her minions, letting her secure the CS even while she was dead. It was actually ideal for Akko, as it kept the lane fairly even while she took last hits, and prevented it from pushing out to Blair's tower.

The potion arrived, and Akko used it, quickly recovering a sizeable chunk of her mana. Blair stepped into lane a moment later. She didn't last long. Akko repeated the same combo, and once again secured a kill on Blair.

“This is pretty easy.” Akko remarked.

“Speak for yourself.” Sucy grumbled. Akko looked at the top lane. Avery was doing a very good job of bullying them under the tower, and denying them CS.

“I can gank for you if you like.” Akko offered.

“That might help.” Lotte replied.

“Just be careful not to feed her.” Sucy added.

“I will!” Akko announced. She called out another mana potion on the courier and ducked into the jungle. It'd take a moment for it to arrive, and a little longer for her to recover enough mana for the gank. Akko got halfway through the jungle, and stopped in a bush, waiting for the courier. It arrived, and Akko activated the potion. Now to wait, and watch the lane.

 

**Yano has slain your Courier**

 

Akko glanced down at the map. Where the courier had been before was a fading vision circle, the portrait of the White Wraith disappearing into the fog as it closed. That was really unfortunate.

“I'm going in!” Akko declared.

“Wait!” Sucy replied. She couldn't wait! They knew she was somewhere in the jungle. If she didn't go now, the gank would be totally wasted. Akko swapped to Axe form, and advanced around behind the lane. She was going to get the kill, and set both of their lanes up for an easy win!

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Diana could see every horrible thing that was about to happen, but she could do nothing to stop it. Akko was attempting a gank. She'd just secured a kill on Time's Keeper, but this early in the game, Blair had respawned again. She had been heading back to lane, but now she was heading through the jungle towards Akko. Mary likewise was moving into position to join the fight, coming in from behind Lotte and Sucy to sandwich them. If they pulled back now, they'd be safe. Akko could easily return to lane, and they'd have just wasted a bit of everyone's time. Akko would secure a good position in lane again, and Mary would have wasted time from jungling for nothing. All Akko had to do was leave, and they would be at least even.

Instead she was going in. She walked into the lane, and threw down her Earthsplitter, blocking Avery out from the tower. Then she moved into the middle of the lane, and waited. Diana was impressed. At least she wasn't making a mess of the gank too. Lotte and Sucy surged forward to try and secure the kill. They'd both hit level 2 by that stage, though Avery was level 3 now. At least Sucy had a spell to use. They got stuck in fighting Avery, who turned, and fought back. Mary continued to creep into the lane, and got around behind them. They'd managed to get Avery low at least, but Sucy had suffered just as much. The wall dropped, and Avery immediately made for the tower.

Akko cut her off, landing a root, and starting to wail on her, while Lotte and Sucy fell back to fight Mary. For a moment, things looked okay. Then Blair joined the fight. She cast her E on Akko and Avery, while Avery activated her stomp. She landed one, stunning Akko. Then they were snapped back. Akko was more or less in the same place, but Avery was pulled from one fight into another. Her second stomp landed on Lotte. Avery and Mary immediately changed focus onto Lotte, abusing the chain of CC to chew through her health. Sucy took the opportunity to flee, abandoning Lotte entirely.

It was the right move, Diana knew. But watching it play out it still felt heartless. Akko wasn't doing much better. Her mana was low, and she was trying to converse it. As such she found herself torn between Blair and the fight. Blair was doing a good job of baiting her back and forth, hiding under tower as Akko approached, before dancing forward when Akko turned away, taunting her with the prospect of a kill. Akko fell for it a few times.

 

**Avery has slain Cremefan**

 

Lotte's death snapped Akko out of the back and forth. She made a hard retreat to the south, fleeing into the jungle again.

“Ladies and gentlemen! This marks the three minutes into the game, and as Akko flees into the jungle, the Blue Moon Spirit is making it's appearance!” Wangiri announced. Diana had mostly zoned out her casting, but this revelation caught her interest. She looked at the minimap and frowned. The Blue Moon Spirit was spawning in the middle of the map. Exactly where Akko was retreating to. She'd need a miracle to escape.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko was in trouble. Very, very deep trouble. She hadn't realised that Blair was coming up to help. She hadn't realised that Mary had joined the fight. Now they'd lost Lotte, and if she wasn't careful, they were going to catch her. She'd need a miracle to get out of this. As if in answer to her prayers, the enemy caster minion in the top lane died. She was apparently just in experience range, since that minion pushed her up to level 3. She immediately levelled her E. That wasn't the plan, but right now the mobility might get her out of trouble. She just had to avoid Avery and Blair who were chasing her. And Mary who was probably snaking around to cut her off.

Akko turned a corner. She was in the very middle of the map. Several different paths through the jungle branched off from this point. It was also where the Blue Moon Spirit spawned to begin her lap of the map. Where she spawned at the three minute mark. Which was, in fact, right now.

The Blue Moon Spirit was standing right in the middle of the room. She immediately turned and started walking towards Akko. This wasn't good. Akko turned to run, before remembering that Avery and Blair were right there. She took a quick guess as to which was safer. The Spirit, probably. So she ran forward. The Spirit at least was slow. It took a few steps towards her, before getting into attack range and beginning to swing.

Akko fired her E behind the Spirit. She hit a tree, and the Moonlit Witch zoomed away, past the Spirit. The attack animation finished, by while moving with her E the Moonlit Witch evaded all attacks. If that'd hit, she'd be dead right now. She stopped on the far end of the room. Avery and Blair had walked in, by this stage, and the Spirit had turned it's attention to them.

Akko saw an opportunity. She took a few steps forward, and opened the chat window.

 

_/_ _dance_

 

The Moonlit Witch started to dance. She could see the thought process in the way Avery moved. The step backwards to get away. The hesitation as she saw the dance. The decision to go for it. She turned, and started moving around the Spirit. Blair followed her forward a bit. Then Avery used her dash, rushing towards Akko. Akko was ready for this. She broke the dance, and took a few steps back, just barely out of range of the damage from the dash. She turned, and swung her W at Avery. It rooted her in place. Then she legged it for the far side of the room.

Blair cast her E on the two of them. Akko watched in horror as she was pulled back into the room. Then the Spirit hit Blair.

 

**Akko has slain Blairr**

 

For a second, Akko had no idea what happened. Then she realised. She'd hit Blair in the past 15 seconds from their fight in lane. Which meant she'd get credited for the kill. The drag back pulled Akko back to where Avery was. It pulled Avery back to where she'd started. Right near Blair. The Spirit hit her too.

 

**Akko has slain Avery**

 

Akko grinned. This might turn out okay. She'd gotten two. They might even be ahead right now. Then Mary walked in from the other side. She wasn't getting away that way. She turned, and ran back to the violet teams side of the map. Mary gave chase. She was faster than Akko. Akko turned her stat boost to move speed. It wasn't enough to get her into broom form, but it might just get her away. It didn't. Mary managed to catch her. Akko switched back to Axe form. She'd just have to fight. She didn't have any mana. She didn't have any items to use. All she had was an Ice Blade. She didn't even have as much health as Mary.

Even so, Akko man-fought. They stood there, trading blows back and forth, as the Spirit closed in on them. They traded two blows. Akko was a single attack behind on the kill. They were both two attacks from death, but Mary was slightly faster. Mary hit her.

The Moonlit Witch suddenly slashed out with her axe, striking Mary, before swinging her regular attack, and landing the killing blow.

 

**Akko has slain Yano**

**ACE**

 

Akko blinked. How had she won?

“Akko! Move!” Lotte hissed. Akko snapped back to her senses. The Spirit was almost on top of her. She turned, and ran back to lane to recall. As she ran, she thought, trying to work it out. Then she realised. Her E had triggered. She almost never fought people in Axe form, so she always forgot it. The fact the build didn't need the E meant she hadn't used it in weeks. But it'd won her the fight, so she wouldn't complain.

 

**\---URSULA---**

 

The rest of the game spiralled out of control for the violet team from that wipe. Akko had hit level 4 off the back of it, and after recalling and spending her gold, she was too tough for either Blair or Avery to contest her in lane. They kept the lanes the way they were, but Blair was two levels behind, and Akko kept it that way, hooking her in and bullying her out of lane over and over. Sucy had managed to pull ahead with the free space created by Akko's stunt, and with Lotte's help, she kept the lane stable. Avery got to farm, but it wasn't enough to offset the destruction Akko was bringing to the bottom lane.

After 15 minutes, it was a fairly textbook win. They pulled further and further ahead, turning their leads into towers, and then finally into a push into the base. When the team emerged from the booth, Ursula couldn't have been prouder. Neither could Akko, it seemed.

“We did it!” She exclaimed, jumping down the stairs and throwing her arms into the air.

“That was excellent work girls!” She declared.

“Thanks coach Ursula!” Akko replied. Lotte and Sucy were both smiling beside her. Ursula couldn't recall ever seeing Sucy smile like that.

“I'm very proud of you turning that early lead into a win. And that was a wonderful decision to skill your E Akko.” Ursula continued. “Now, go take a break. The next match isn't for half an hour, and I'm sure the green team won't mind if you miss the beginning.”

“Alright!” Akko agreed, and the three girls started walking off. “Are you guys hungry?” Ursula heard Akko ask, a bit softer, as they wandered towards the exit. She turned her gaze to the rest of the room, and scanned for the green team. They were sitting in the back row. Amanda had her legs up on the back of the chair in front of her. It was a small miracle no one had told her off for that. Ursula crossed the room, and stopped beside them.

“Girls, you're up next. Are you ready?” She asked. Amanda shrugged.

“Ready as we'll ever be.” She replied, pulling her feet off the chair and standing up.

“Is everything okay?” That wasn't exactly a re-assuring answer.

“Yeah, we just dunno anything about them.” Amanda replied.

“Oh, of course. Well, I can't really tell you everything about them, but I could suggest your bans and team composition?” Ursula suggested. There was an awkward pause, as Amanda glanced between Constanze and Jasminka. They collectively shrugged at each other.

“Sure, whatever.” Amanda agreed reluctantly.

“What maps were you looking to play on?” Ursula asked.

“Polaris is our favourite. But we're good for Ohana, Tower and Rastavan.” Amanda answered. Ursula went over the maps in her head, comparing them with their opponent's preferences. She didn't know a lot about the team they'd be facing.

“I'd skip a ban on Fruitland, and remove Polaris.” Ursula suggested. “Almost everyone will ban Fruitland for you.”

“Right.” Amanda replied. She was difficult for Ursula to read. She didn't seem to be hostile towards her, like she had been with Nelson, but neither was she particularly forthcoming. Ursula suspected she was trying to maintain a rebellious front. Even her username was a reference to her rebellious nature after all. Even so, that didn't really help her work out exactly where they stood unfortunately.

“As for your composition...I would suggest running the Loyal Defender Calamity combo.” Ursula added, taking a moment to pick one out. They were doing well with that composition, and she knew that there wouldn't be any overlap in their picks, so they couldn't be locked out mid-draft.

“Got it.” Amanda continued. “We good to go get set up?” Ursula looked around. The other team was approaching their booth.

“Yes, good luck girls!” Ursula replied. They headed off. Amanda waved over her shoulder in a vague acknowledgement of the well wishes.

 

The game was played on Arcturus Tower, and was, essentially, a stomp. Amanda had really grown, Ursula was proud to note. She still played Shooting Star primarily as an assassin, but she was more than ready to adopt a support stance and save Constanze from danger. She would usually jump in and start the fight, making a single pick before escaping with her flash orb. When the enemy tried to turn it around to secure the fight, she waited in the wings for Constanze to potentially be in danger, before whisking her away to safety. Just as often, Constanze simply killed them all.

“Excellent work girls!” Ursula declared as they came out of the booths.

“Thanks coach.” Amanda replied, with a cocky grin. “I thought the other teams would be tougher than this!” Ursula smiled awkwardly. Luna Nova hadn't been doing particularly well the last few years. They still got a lot of applications each year, but the quality of them had been on a steady decline. The three teams they found had been a godsend for their prospects. Despite that, Ursula wasn't ready to tell them that. She didn't need the newest members getting big heads. Or worse, thinking they could do better.

“Well, you know, it's not like playing longer always makes you better. It's how much work you put into it. And you all put a lot of work into it.” Ursula replied tactfully.

“Is that why you're teaching?” Amanda teased. Ursula paused.

“Well, um, not exactly.” She replied. She really didn't want to get into this. Amanda cocked an eyebrow at her, but didn't push it.

“I was just teasing. Akko showed me how you kicked Boxer's ass.” She replied. “Guess you're gonna have to go give Miss Priss a pep talk. I'm gonna go chat with Akko.” Amanda headed off for the back of the room, leaving Ursula very confused. She was right, she would have to have a short talk with the blue team.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Diana had suspected that the Luna Nova Witches were in trouble. They hadn't been doing well in recent tournaments, but that didn't always mean they were bad. They didn't even try to enter that many tournaments. That could just indicate a changing focus, or an attempt to build talent in reserve. But watching the Witches' Cup so far, it was clear that was not the case. There was no talent here. The violet team at least were performing well enough, though Diana doubted they would be able to compete against either the blue or green teams. The other matches showed nothing of value, and when the last game of the first round came up Diana wasn't remotely concerned.

“I can't believe everyone was doing that bad.” Hannah remarked, just a little too loudly.

“I know! I thought Luna Nova was a reputable team, but I guess things are really falling apart.” Barbara agreed.

“Did you see that last fight? It was so disorganised. No wonder they let Akko in! She was probably one of the best applicants they had!” Hannah continued.

“Girls. Please focus on our game.” Diana asked. They were standing outside the booth now, waiting for the all clear to go in.

“Do you have any questions before you go in?” Ursula asked. Diana shook her head.

“No, thank you. We have everything worked out.” Diana replied. Ursula smiled.

“Alright. Have fun!” She said. Diana nodded, and they stepped inside. The bans flew past her. They ended up playing on Arcturus Forest. Diana appreciated the simple map. The draft went by just as fast. They opened up picked Empress, and then Gravity Queen and Fallen Angel. It was the most ambiguous team composition they could run. An Empress or Gravity Queen pick wouldn't tell their opponents anything in the next round. Not that it mattered. Diana doubted they'd have trouble.

Diana largely played the game on auto-pilot. It wasn't hard. As a carry Gravity Queen only really had one way to be played. Nothing their opponents did was particularly difficult to handle, and so Diana spent the match thinking. The green team had gotten much better. Their fundamentals and teamwork had improved over the past two weeks. Amanda's execution was also top-notch. Despite that, Diana didn't have any concerns about facing them.

Amanda's lanes were weak, while Diana excelled in them. Laning was, after all, the most important stage of the game. A weak lane would translate into a bad late game. Amanda coasted by on how exceptional her ganks and team fighting was, but that could only carry someone so far before the gap in late game power became too much. That wasn't to say the late game was insignificant of course. The difference between diamond and masters was largely found in the late game. But the difference between platinum and diamond was found in the laning phase, and Diana was going to prove that.

She didn't expect to be seeing the red team in the finals. Akko's stunt to score an ace had been impressive, certainly. But it was just that, a stunt. Nothing that could be relied upon in every game. In fact, it was clear Akko hadn't even planned it. The way she'd hesitated at the sight of the Blue Moon spirit made that apparent. And it was only an ace because she got lucky. There wouldn't be a repeat of that against the green team. Diana was sure of that. And even if they made it, there was no way that the red team could defeat them. Diana was even more sure of that.

They won the game handily. It was a little bit slow, taking 20 minutes all up. Diana wasn't fussed. Slow games suited her. She knew better than to make risky plays when they were ahead. It was better to take a few minutes and ensure the win then take an unnecessary risk and throw it all away.

“That was great!” Ursula declared as they walked out of the booth. Diana nodded.

“Thank you. Is there a break between rounds?” She asked. Ursula nodded.

“You've got two hours until the next round starts. The finals are going to be after dinner.” She explained.

“Alright. I think I'm going to have lunch, and then spend a little bit of time relaxing.” Diana declared. They'd been practising non-stop for the past few weeks, except for the trip out, and Diana found herself wanting to play something else for just a little bit. Taking an hour to try out the Hat in Time DLC she'd missed would probably do the trick.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko stretched in the chair, before flopping back into it. The booth chairs were so big and comfy. They'd been let in a little early to get settled and set up anything they needed to do. Akko didn't have anything, but Sucy was fussing with her mouse a bit.

“It wasn't in the right place last time.” She'd explained as she started. Looking out of the booth, Akko could see the rest of the team shuffling in to take their seats. Barbara and Hannah had returned rather early, but Diana was noticeably absent. A tiny part of Akko wondered why. It was probably just that she didn't want to waste her time watching them play. She made no secret of the fact she thought she was better than them. But then, why were the other two here? They'd made their feelings even less of a secret.

“We're gonna win this!” Akko announced.

“You said that already.” Sucy replied.

“I did?”

“Five times actually.” Sucy added. Akko smiled.

“That's just cause that's how much we're going to win!” She replied.

“You said that last time too.” Lotte said softly. Akko nodded, and turned to look at the other booth. Amanda was sitting with her feet up on the desk, and her arms folded behind her head as she chatted with Jasminka and Constanze. They seemed to be really invested in the discussion. They were probably talking about the match. Akko wasn't actually sure if they'd win. They had roughly equal results in practice, and they hadn't prepared anything special for this match.

“What are we picking?” Akko asked.

“Depends on the map.” Sucy replied.

“What map are we picking then?” Akko continued.

“Not Polaris.” Sucy said simply. Akko nodded. They hadn't had a great track record on Polaris. Akko had a bad habit of face checking the fountain when told not to, and getting killed for it. After the seventh time that happened, Sucy insisted they ban it.

“We should ban Polaris, Blue Moon and Tower.” Lotte suggested. Akko thought it over slowly, before nodding.

“Okay!” She agreed. It made sense. They were bad at Polaris. They'd just tipped their hand on Blue Moon Abyss, and the green team were clearly comfortable with Tower.

“Girls, it's time to do your bans.” Ursula called from the door.

“Okay, thanks coach Ursula!” Akko called back.

“Good luck” Ursula replied, before gently closing the door behind her. Normally she'd have been in the booth helping them, but as the coach to both teams, she'd decided to assist neither. Akko understood that it was normal in cases like this for support staff or members of other teams to split down the middle to support each team. Unfortunately none of the blue team were on good enough terms with them to provide any assistance, and the rest of the team was largely a mystery to Akko.

 

_Akko_ _1:25_

 

_Hey! Bans? Who's first?_

 

_NoCause 1:25_

 

_Us. Fruitland_

 

_Akko 1:25_

 

_RUDE! :P_

 

_Tower_

 

_NoCause 1:25_

 

_Playing dirty huh?_

 

_Forest_

 

_Akko 1:25_

 

_Polaris!_

 

_NoCause 1:26_

 

_Blue Moon_

 

Akko paused.

“They banned Blue Moon. What do I ban instead?” She asked.

“What's left?” Lotte asked.

“Rastavan and Ohana.” Akko answered. Sucy sighed very loudly.

“You can ban Rastavan.” She muttered. “I know you love your stupid beach map.” Akko did, in fact, love Ohana Beach.

 

_Akko 1:27_

 

_Rastavan!_

 

_NoCause 1:27_

 

_Playing in swimsuits huh? ;)_

 

_Sounds good to me._

 

Akko opened a chat window with coach Finnelan, and quickly told her the ban results. Despite only responding with an “Okay”, Akko could somehow feel the disapproval. She didn't have to wait long before a match invite popped up. There was a little bit of team shuffling, before they got into the picks and bans. Akko immediately locked in Moonlit Witch. Everyone else had back up picks. She didn't. As she'd expected, the picks were revealed, showing that Amanda had picked Shooting Star. This time Akko had first pick.

“What do we want to pick?” She asked, looking at Lotte and Sucy.

“Loyal Defender.” Sucy answered.

“Huh?” Akko replied. Why was Sucy saying what support to pick?

“They won't fall for my Trickster plays, and they've already taken Shooting Star. This is the only composition we can run. And if we pick Sorrow Demon first they can take Loyal Defender from us.” Sucy explained. Akko took a second, before nodding.

“Got it!” She replied, picking Loyal Defender. Amanda immediately locked in Titanium Maiden and Magic Marksman. Akko picked Sorrow Demon again, and the game moved on to the preparation phase. Akko didn't need to swap her runes for this build, so she was free to sit back and relax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hero Profile for Titanium Maiden  
> Roles: Support, Durable, Disabler
> 
> Unbreakable(Passive): All disables on Titanium Maiden are only 50% effective.
> 
> Iron Shield(Q): Titanium Maiden prepares to strike with her shield on the next attack. Her next attack is automatically a critical hit, and stuns the opponent.  
> Titanium Shell(W): Titanium Maiden excells at improving her defenses, and never taking the same hit twice. Whenever she's damaged by an attack, she gains a Titanium Shell stack, which grants temporary armor.  
> Defeaning Strike(E): Titanium Maiden strikes her sword against her shield, causing her shield to emit a defeaning chime. All enemies in a radius around her are hit with a mini-stun, followed by a slow.  
> The Ring of Titanium(R): Titanium Maiden calls down the ring of Titanium. She creates a hexagon of Titanium walls, that her opponents cannot pass through for a short time.
> 
>  
> 
> POST NOTES: I'm really sorry for skipping a bunch of the games! Writing for a game where half the heroes aren't defined is nearly impossible, and the fact I won't be defining them properly for a while makes it worse. Thankfully the next game we'll have everyone defined by the end, and I'll be drawing on that a lot more to make it better. And the more heroes I define as we go, the easier it'll be to do this.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun trivia fact: Unless I specifically say otherwise in notes, all games depicted (apart from Magical Burst obviously) are completely real, and come with my full endorsement to go play.
> 
> Not a lot else to say other than OHANA BEACH WAS A MISTAKE AAAAAAHHH. Don't expect to see a ton of it in the future, it'd make for an interesting map in practice, but from a writing perspective it's very difficult to make interesting. It'll appear again, of course, but not as much as the more standard maps. Which is actually pretty realistic honestly, given how weird it is.
> 
> Shorter chapter again sorry! Expect that to continue until chapter...eleven? Probably? And then after that it'll stretch out again as more character interaction happens. Future tournaments will also run a little slower, with day long breaks between games for me to include some downtime socializing and the like to keep the characters growing and being cute and shit.

**Chapter Eight**

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

“Thank you fow kissing my ouchie, miss! I feew bettew aweady! I fwound this shiny gwass, but it's all youws now!” The seal said. A small smile crept onto Diana's face. This level was amazing. It was a cruise liner, crewed entirely by adorable seals. Very incompetent adorable seals. In the back of her mind she compared them to Akko, though she knew that was a little bit rude. Akko wasn't nearly that bad. Plus she was capable of saying rs and ls. With that seal helped, she had the last chunk of the Time Piece. That would probably be enough for the moment.

Diana picked up her phone and checked the time. 1:32. She was late. The next match would've already started. She cursed quietly under her breath, and looked back at the screen. Thankfully the Time Piece had spawned in right next to her. She grabbed it, let the level finish, and closed the game. She wasn't missing much. They'd be in the early laning stages by now. She gathered her things, and slipped out of her room. She slipped into the hall, and settled down beside Barbara.

“Hello girls. Did I miss anything major?” She asked softly.

“Nothing you won't work out for yourself.” Barbara answered. “We thought you weren't coming.”

“I apologise. I didn't expect that level to take as long as it did.” Diana said.

“What level?” Hannah asked.

“The new Hat in Time one.” Diana answered.

“Oh.” Hannah replied. She didn't appreciate platformers the way Diana did. Neither did Barbara for that matter. Diana didn't blame them, but she adored the genre. There was a purity in their simplicity that she felt was lacking in most other games.

With the conversation passed, Diana turned her attention to the screen. She immediately understood what Barbara meant. They were playing on Ohana Beach. Diana didn't like Ohana Beach much. It was an improvement over the nonsense that was Fruitland and it's strange lemon mechanic, but it wasn't much of one. The map was, at least, aesthetically pleasing.

The bases were placed on either side, each designed like a pier. Atypically there were three entrances to the base, though only two of them were part of actual lanes. The lanes lead out into an open, featureless beach. There they snaked together, until they fused into a central meeting point at the middle of the map, forcing all engagements into a 3v3 format, with twice the usual minions to farm.

The result was that no conventional wisdom applied. It was possible to funnel all of a team's gold onto one character, and create a super carry. It was also entirely practical to split the gold roughly equally, and farm up three semi-carries. Or simply split the gold as you would normally between two heroes. Sometimes teams ran a jungler, though the jungle was in name only. It more resembled a few suburban streets, running along the south side of the map, with the creep camps scattered around it. To the north of the beach was the ocean, impassable terrain, except for the small island that sat on the far north of the map. There the map objective, a large stage resided. It would occasionally go active, and allow a team to capture it. The only way to reach the objective, other than a jump ability, was to take one of the two bridges that ran from the bases out to the stage.

In Diana's opinion, it was a nightmare of a map to play. The gimmick of forcing 3v3 fights was frustrating, and the map objective was too easy to abuse. The path out to it meant that teams could lose the objective just because the enemy happened to have a hero in base when they didn't. But it was popular among the spectators, and that meant it was in the rotation. She understood why it was popular. Everything that made it a nightmare to play made it entertaining to watch. She didn't like it however.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko loved Ohana Beach. It made for such cool games, and she loved the way it made everything crazy. The swimsuit skins being the default were a nice addition. It was just a shame that she and Amanda were the only ones using them. And she hardly got to see Amanda's. Amanda was clearly in lane, but she was hanging well back, hiding in the fog and soaking experience from the back. Akko couldn't complain too much, Sucy was doing something similar. She hung back, keeping just in range to obtain Punishment stacks, and only walking forward when there was CS available.

The majority of the lane was Akko and Lotte facing off with Constanze and Jasminka. They were mostly being polite, and focusing on the CS. Constanze had tried to go ham one time, pushing forward and hitting Akko hard as she fell back. This came to an abrupt stop with Sucy blinked in with a flash powder, and chunked Constanze for most of her health. She would have died, if not for Amanda swooping in and snatching her away.

With Constanze removed from the lane, Jasminka was also forced to fall back, and Lotte roamed forward to guard the creeps and deny experience while Akko and Sucy farmed the lane. They managed to shove out the wave, and get a few creeps up to hit the towers, putting a few scratches on them before the green team got back to lane. They didn't fare much better returning to lane. The red team had run of the centre of the map, and they didn't let it go. Without a line of creeps to hide behind, it was easy for Akko to throw hooks at Jasminka and Constanze, and she hit a few. Every time she hit one though, Amanda dived from the fog to bail them out. The way their cooldowns lined up so perfectly like that was frustrating.

After about four minutes, just before they hit 6, Akko went for one more hook. She was on point to hit Constanze. But then Jasminka blinked into the way, taking the hook instead. She flew up to Akko, and immediately stunned her. Amanda was diving in a second later, cancelling her dive as she stopped next to Akko, and joining with Jasminka to start beating her down. Lotte moved forward and shoved them back, but they just collapsed on Akko again.

The fight quickly turned into a clusterfuck, as both Sucy and Constanze piled in as well. Akko wasn't sure what was going on. So she did the only logical thing she could. She swapped to Axe form, and tunnel-visioned on Amanda. Lotte had thrown her E onto Akko, and put up her shield. Akko had already been pushed to half health, but with Lotte she should be okay for the moment.

Akko threw her W onto Amanda, who turned, and started to run away from her. Akko grinned. They'd made a mistake, and now they were going to be punished for it. Then Akko realised Amanda wasn't heading back for her tower. She was running towards their towers instead. She dashed forward with her Q, and it dawned on Akko what was about to happen.

Amanda activated her W, and Lotte and Akko were thrown forward, into the waiting clutches of Jasminka and Constanze. They were stunned for a moment, and both of them unloaded on Akko. In any other circumstances she'd be very dead. But with the added health of Axe form, Lotte sharing the damage, and her increased damage reduction. She barely survived. She looked back at Amanda. She'd have to get through her to get to safety.

“Akko!” Lotte snapped. “Focus on Constanze!” Akko blinked. That was probably smart. She threw her Q at Constanze.

“But what about Amanda?” She asked.

“I've got her.” Sucy answered. She'd blinked forward, and landed a hit on Amanda. With the amount of damage Akko had taken, Sucy was hitting like a truck.

“Please just kill Constanze.” Lotte pleaded softly.

“Okay!” Akko agreed. She started advancing on Constanze. She swapped back to Hook form, and threw another hook, catching Constanze this time and pulling her across the wall, away from Jasminka and next to her. She followed it up with a rooting attack, before swapping back to Axe form and wailing on her. Constanze stood and fought. It was needlessly close. With all of the damage mitigation on Akko, her slim health bar was an actual challenge. Constanze was still at full health however, and Akko didn't have a lot of damage.

Suddenly, one of Akko's attacks chunked Constanze for a lot of health. It took her a second to work out what had happened. Then she noticed Sucy had just unleashed her W. With the amount of damage that'd been done already, the armour penalty was massive. Akko landed another hit, and Constanze's health dropped another chunk. Then the link with Lotte ended. Constanze hit her once.

 

**SnipingWitch has slain Akko for First Blood**

 

Akko flopped back in her chair and groaned. The fight wasn't over though, so she looked back at it. Amanda had actually traded a few blows with Sucy, she realised, as Sucy was a bit lower than she should be. Jasminka was advancing on Lotte, while Constanze headed straight for Sucy, trying to clean up before they could get Amanda. Amanda was doing a good job of escaping, as her passive built up her speed. Then she ran into Lotte. Lotte slammed Amanda with her W, knocking Amanda back towards Sucy.

 

**MushroomMistress has slain NoCause**

 

The kill on Amanda pushed Sucy and Lotte to level 6. Jasminka and Constanze were both a little bit behind on experience as a result of the earlier bullying. Sucy surged forward, and began wailing on Jasminka, while Constanze fired at her. Despite all of her tankiness, the damage Sucy had built up was too much, and she Jasminka fell quickly.

 

**MushroomMistress has slain HungerFairy**

 

Now all that was left was Constanze. Sucy had fallen very low though. Magic Marksman had one of the highest ranges in the game, letting her stand at relative safety to Sorrow Demon. Lotte had advanced, and was almost on top of Constanze, but she wouldn't be able to do much. Sucy followed after her as Constanze landed one more hit. Sucy was a hit from death. She cast her ultimate on Lotte. Then Constanze hit her one more time.

 

**SnipingWitch has slain MushroomMistress**

 

Lotte didn't bother hitting Constanze. She immediately walked behind her, and shoved her back towards the lane. Without the rest of her team, Lotte was in trouble. Constanze laid into her, chunking both of their HP at the same time. It was close. Constanze seemed to realise she was in danger, and turned to run. Lotte activated her ult, taunting Magic Marksman, and pulling her back into the fight. It was terrifyingly close. One more hit would kill them both. Lotte activated her Q again. The shield barely held the attack.

 

**MushroomMistress has slain SnipingWitch**

**ACE**

 

Akko let out a massive sigh of relief.

“We did it!” She declared.

“We haven't won yet.” Sucy retorted quickly. She was right, unfortunately. There was still a lot more game to go. But they were ahead, at least.

 

**\---LOTTE---**

 

The fight had been something else. Lotte was amazed that she was alive. She was sure they'd lost that one. But she'd managed to pull it off, and now it was all on her to capitalise on the victory. There wasn't an objective up on the map right now, and she was too weak to consider sneaking into the jungle to try and steal a buff. Not that she could reasonably win that even when she wasn't weak. With nothing else to do, she focused on shoving the lane.

Lotte would never admit it, but she did actually practice last hitting. Probably more than Akko did. Though Akko got practice in game. Lotte didn't, so she made a point of spending 10 minutes each night in a custom game, just last hitting in case she needed it. And now it was paying off. She weaved through the lane, weakening the stronger minions while there were no last hits available, making certain that no two minions fell into range at the same time. She messed up at one point, and let three drop into last hit range at once. She hit one, and then threw her shield bash at the other two to secure the last hits. To her surprise, she didn't actually miss a last hit. With the wave cleared, she moved on to push the towers.

She managed to drop one to half health before everyone else started respawning. Lotte immediately fell back. She wasn't going to take the risk of someone getting back sooner than she expected.

“Do I need boots?” Akko asked.

“What kind of question is that?” Sucy replied.

“Um, a serious one?” Akko answered uncertainly.

“Yes. You need boots.” Sucy snapped back.

“But if I buy boots, I can't keep using axe form.” Akko explained.

“I think that's okay right now.” Lotte said. “You can use it when you hit level 6, right?”

“Yeah.” Akko replied. The stat boosting power of Moonlit Witch got stronger with each level, allowing her to have a slightly less balanced stat distribution. Lotte had learned most of the milestones for that since they'd started playing together.

“You'll get to lane faster with boots. So go for it.” Lotte explained.

“Oh, good point!” Akko replied. A moment later she was landing in lane from her E.

“We should keep shoving.” Sucy announced.

“Okay!” Akko agreed.

“If you think so.” Lotte replied. She wasn't entirely sure about shoving the lane out right now. The green team was already respawning. But they weren't in lane. Lotte and Akko worked the minions over carefully. Lotte made certain to hit the ones that she wouldn't ruin for Akko, while Akko focused entirely on last hitting. Together they cleared the lane much sooner, and the minions rushed the tower.

“Do we go for it?” Akko asked.

“No.” Sucy replied. Lotte glanced at the minimap. Sucy had already made it back to lane. Which meant Amanda was already lurking in the fog most likely, waiting for her help to arrive. They pulled back and waited. Only Constanze returned to lane.

“Where's Jasminka?” Akko wondered aloud.

“I think she went jungling.” Lotte replied. Akko nodded.

“So this lane is easy, right?” She asked. Lotte hesitated. Not exactly. They'd fall behind in gold and experience to Constanze, and Amanda ensured they could never actually gank her. If they bullied her too hard, she'd just wait for them to naturally push the lane up, and farm under tower instead. They could send someone off to jungle, but Jasminka needed the money the least. She'd absolutely return to the lane to gank when it was a 2v2, and they didn't have the escape capability that Amanda provided.

“I don't think so.” Lotte replied. “It's...complicated. Let's just try and push a tower down?”

“Alright! One tower, coming up!” Akko announced. She'd hit level 6 by now, and swapped back to axe form. They shoved one wave out, and then another. Each time they managed to zone Constanze back, but they couldn't stop her from farming. When the minions split, Amanda appeared in the lane they were neglecting, and scooped up the farm Constanze missed.

Despite the impossibility of actually killing Constanze, they did manage to take the tower. It was a huge victory, since the whole lane structure had been changed. If they pushed a wave forward, it'd intercept one wave of minions, while the other lane died on the tower. It'd start a snowball effect in the middle of the map, if the green team didn't stop it. Lotte let out a sigh of relief. They'd turned the first win into another win. Now they just had to keep the momentum up.

“The Stage will be activating in 30 seconds.” The announcer declared. Lotte winced. That could mix things up. Maybe even cost them the game.

 

**\---AMANDA---**

 

Amanda kept her finger on the tab key through a lot of the game. Even when she'd been laning solo, she did it a lot, though not as much as now. Tab brought up the hero information screen, showing her what everyone had bought, their kda score, and their CS. With this, she could keep a good grasp on how well everyone was doing.

Constanze had the lead in CS. She'd already farmed 80 last hits. Sucy was the next highest with 57, followed by Akko with 34. Lotte only had the 12 she'd secured after the fight, and Jasminka was starting to gain a few, though it was hardly representative. Jungle camps dropped a lot more gold and experience than the lane creeps. The last fight hadn't been great. Sucy had secured all three kills, and she'd spent all of her money on grabbing more attack speed and life steal. By the end of a fight, she'd probably be unkillable.

Constanze hadn't been slouching either though. She'd bought a ton of crit and damage, and it was showing. She secured last hits without any trouble. Amanda was having a little more trouble, now that she was under tower, but she was managing it. She didn't need nearly the same amount of farm that Constanze did. She really only had one job in the fight. Serving Sucy up to Constanze and Jasminka. For that she'd need a flash orb, and maybe some AP.

“The Stage will be activating in 30 seconds.” The announcer declared. Amanda grimaced.

“Shit.” She said. “The fuck do we do about that?” Ideally Jasminka would be a bit more farmed before that came up.

“I'll come back now.” Jasminka offered.

“Probably a good idea. Cons?” Amanda turned to check for approval. She was met by a quick thumbs up from Constanze. “Do we go for it together?”

 

_[8:22]SnipingWitch:N_

 

“Do any of us go for it?” Amanda asked. Constanze nodded. She immediately pointed to Amanda and Jasminka. “Alright, so you stay in lane, while we go up for it?” Amanda checked. Constanze nodded.

“You heard the girl Jasminka. I'll recall now.” Amanda said, as she flew back into the fog with her W, and immediately began recalling. In the jungle Jasminka was doing the same. None of the red team was visible on the map. They were likely all going for the objective too. It's what Amanda would do, in their situation. They were ahead. If they secured the stage, they'd be even more ahead. Especially if they got another wipe in the process.

“So what are we doing here Cons? Taking the objective?” Amanda asked, as she ran for the stage. She'd bought a ward, a flare and two flash powder for the fight. There were bushes around the stage that could be used for traps, and she didn't plan to fall for one any time soon. She glanced over at Constanze, who shook her head. “Getting kills?” Another head shake. Amanda frowned, trying to think of what else they could do.

 

_[8:33]_ _SnipingWitch_ _:Stall_

 

“You got it.” Amanda grinned. That made sense. If they could stall out a 2v3, Constanze could extend her lead even further. Possibly even take a tower or two. And they had a great composition for it too. Titanium Maiden was particularly good at standing in a spot and fighting for it. She didn't do much damage, but her armour value was insane, and Jasminka ran an incredibly abusive regen build on her. If she built up enough of her armour stacks, she might just be unkillable there. And Shooting Star was so good at pushing enemies around, she could reset caps all by herself.

They arrived with 10 seconds until the stage went active. Amanda eyed the bush that ran along the south side of the island. It was a good place to put an ambush. It's where she'd hide if that was her plan. Normally, she'd dash into it, hopefully skewer some people and land a stun. But they were stalling, and that wouldn't do. She'd have to be a bit more cautious.

“I'm gonna check something.” Amanda announced. She dived towards the bush, aiming just short of where it started. At the peak of her dive, she threw down a ward. The entire red team was there. Akko was in hook form. She fired her hook at Amanda, and for a terrifying second it looked about to connect. Then the dive began it's return journey, and Amanda zoomed away to safety.

“Fuck that was close.” Amanda muttered.

“Scary.” Jasminka agreed.

“How the fuck do we approach that?” Amanda mused. She was answered by a series of pings from Constanze, guiding them to walk up the far side of the island. It'd leave them out of range of the bush at least. There wasn't anything better to do, so Amanda headed for it. As she moved, she pressed tab again. Constanze was at 96 CS right now, and rising. The others had stalled out. Akko had bought an AD talisman however. That was interesting.

They made it up onto the island as the stage came active. There was a slight delay of the team in the bush, before Akko moved out, and headed for the stage. Amanda and Jasminka probably could have swept in and taken control of the stage if they wanted. But that wasn't the goal here, so they hung back and waited. The more time it took the red team to secure the stage, the better it'd be for them.

“We got this.” Amanda announced confidently. She pressed tab again and checked on Constanze. Her CS was at 104. Looking down at the map, she was advancing on a tower already. With luck, she'd have a tower before the red team realised what they were up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hero Profile for Magic Marksman  
> Roles: Carry, Pusher, Disabler
> 
> Sharpshooter(Passive): Magic Marksman excels at long range combat. When attacking enemies at a large distance, she deals bonus damage.
> 
> Crowdclearer(Q): Magic Marksman fires a special round designed to remove crowds of enemies. It travels in a straight line, damaging all enemies hit by it. Minions take bonus damage from Crowdclearer.  
> Concussive Shot(W): Magic Marksman fires at a weak point of the opponent, dealing a small amount of damage, and slowing them for 3 seconds.  
> Sniper(E): Magic Marksman trains her ability to hit shots at range. Her max range is increased for each rank of Sniper.  
> Headshot(R): Magic Marksman lines up a fatal shot on her target. After a short delay, she fires a fast moving, homing projectile at the target that deals massive damage.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, my writing leaves me a chapter ahead, which means I can promise you that the next chapter is the last chapter of the Witches Cup arc. I am so glad to be done with it. Not a lot else to say. I've decided I'm gonna deal with the hero profile later, when it's not 2:35 in the morning and I'm overheating because my central air is broken. Expect that to be edited in tomorrow. Though you can always go back, I'll include a reminder on the next chapter, so you can go back and check if you read this before it gets edited in.
> 
> Enjoy! And as always comments are much loved!

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko walked into the middle of the stage, and started to capture it. She wasn't too sure what the green team was thinking. Amanda had shown her face to drop a ward and ruin the ambush, but other than that they didn't seem to be here to contest it. Constanze was visible on the map. They knew for a fact they couldn't fight here. Maybe Amanda had come up alone to see if they were leaving it uncontested. That was the most likely explanation. In that case, she'd be recalling now, and they'd be recalling soon too. The capture timer was almost filled.

Then Amanda came zooming in again on her Saviour Dive. This time she stopped in the capture circle, and immediately activated her Sonic Jump. Akko was sent flying off the stage. She made a step to return. She came to a hard stop, as a wall appeared in front of her.

“What!” Akko exclaimed. “Oh.” She added, as she processed what she was looking at. A large ring surrounded the stage, keeping her out. Jasminka had used her ultimate to lock her out. If they didn't get in there, or get Amanda out, she'd capture the stage instead.

“We're coming.” Lotte said softly. Akko nodded.

“Got it.” She added quickly, realising Lotte likely couldn't see the nodding. There wasn't a rush to get in there yet. They just needed to contest the capture until the wall went down, and they could throw their weight onto it.

“A Tower is under attack!” The announcer declared. Akko's eyes flashed down to the minimap in panic. Constanze was pushing the tower.

“Oh no.” Akko muttered.

“What do we do captain?” Sucy asked. Akko didn't know. She'd never dealt with this before.

“Akko?” Lotte pushed. Akko realised she'd just stopped for a second. Amanda was half-way through the capture by now.

“We take the stage!” Akko declared. She wasn't sure that was the right call. But they were here, and getting back would take too long. The buff would be worth it. Akko was sure. She swapped to her hook form, and fired at Amanda. The hook landed, and she pulled Amanda out of the ring, and into the waiting clutches of her team. She immediately followed up with her W. If they didn't lock Amanda down, she'd escape again.

As predicted, Amanda escaped again. She was low though, and she'd dived to the far side of the stage, preventing herself from catching it. They were all locked out for the moment. Akko chewed on her lip. That wasn't good.

“A Tower is under attack!” The announcer said again. This wasn't good. They couldn't afford to keep doing this. But she wasn't certain they could get someone back in time. Across the stage Amanda was running in circles, building up her move speed bonus from her passive. Behind Akko, Lotte and Sucy had arrived at the stage too.

“We've got to finish this now.” Akko announced. The walls went down, and they surged forward. On the other side, Jasminka took a single, tentative step onto the stage. Amanda hung back, dancing around to keep her speed up. Sucy likewise stopped on the edge, and started attacking Jasminka. Her attacks weren't doing much damage. She didn't have any Punishment stacks, and Titanium Maiden was a high armour hero.

With both teams standing on it, the stage was contested. Akko had gotten on a second sooner, so they had a tiny bit of progress. If they could remove Jasminka, they'd start capturing it immediately. Jasminka couldn't remove them herself. She didn't have the abilities to make them move. Akko and Lotte also advanced on Jasminka. In response, Jasminka immediately stunned Akko. Amanda moved forward too, and began attacking Lotte. At max move speed, she did a lot of damage.

“Lotte, back up!” Akko called. She was going to die at this rate.

“My ult's not up.” Sucy announced. Akko frowned. Why did that matter.

“I know.” Lotte said simply. She activated her Q, and took another step forward, before activating her ult. Jasminka immediately began attacking Lotte too. Amanda's damage dropped off suddenly, as she stopped moving to attack, and her speed boost vanished. Lotte walked away from the stage, dragging Amanda and Jasminka away from the platform.

“Akko.” Sucy hissed.

“Huh?”

“Use your broom form and go stop Constanze!” Sucy snapped. Akko blinked.

“Oh yeah!” She replied. She swapped her stat bonus into move speed, and aimed her E on the mini-map.

“The enemy has destroyed a tower!” The announcer declared. Akko immediately cancelled her E, and stared at the minimap. Constanze was in the bottom lane before, but she was moving to the top lane as the fog of war faded. Akko re-aimed her E, and clicked again. She wouldn't get more than one tower.

 

**\---CONSTANZE---**

 

Everything was going largely to plan. Constanze had secured a sizeable CS lead. She had taken a tower. The red team still hadn't captured the stage. They would, eventually. But eventually was okay. So long as it wasn't now. If they captured it now, they might get back in time to stop themselves losing two towers.

 

**NoCause has slain Cremefan**

 

That wasn't entirely unexpected. Constanze had guessed Lotte might use her ult to sacrifice herself to secure the stage. It wouldn't be enough. Even with the full duration Amanda could Saviour Dive back to the stage in time. She would likely die in the process, but she'd buy more time. She might be able to push one of them off the stage, and reset part of the progress. Otherwise, they'd likely capture it before Jasminka could make it. But they'd be too late to stop Constanze from taking another tower. The minion wave had already died to the tower, but Constanze didn't need to stop hitting it. Magic Marksman could out range towers with the bonus range given by her maxed out E. So long as Constanze didn't give the tower any down time, the backdoor protection wouldn't return, and she could take it quickly.

 

**MushroomMistress has slain NoCause**

 

Constanze glanced over at the tab that showed the kill. That was strange. Moonlit Witch's portrait wasn't there. She looked at the mini-map. Moonlit Witch wasn't there either. Had she tried to go back already?

Constanze's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance of a rock wall in front of her. Akko was here. She must've flown back with broom form. But she'd somehow missed her knock up. Constanze wasn't sure how she'd missed, but she wasn't too surprised. Either way, she shouldn't take the risk of picking a fight. Akko was stupid but she was lucky. The game seemed to messed with probability to give her what she needed, and Constanze wasn't going to be the victim of that.

Akko dashed out of the fog in broom form, zooming forward with her Q. Then she swapped to hook form. Constanze realised she was wrong. She was going to be the victim of Akko's luck. She tried to juke to the side and throw off Akko's aim, but it was no good. Akko hit her with the hook. Akko never seemed to miss with her hooks. Constanze could understand it. She'd been a one-trick for 10 years.

Now that she was on the other side of the wall, Constanze realised just how perfectly placed it actually was. It kept her stuck perfectly in tower range. She could try and run around it, but she wouldn't get out of range before the wall dropped. So she stood and fought, tanking tower hits and Akko's damage. Akko was at least quite weak, and Constanze was doing decent damage. She landed a crit, and it quickly became apparent if Constanze was lucky, she could win this fight. The wall dropped, and Akko immediately hit Constanze with her W, before swapping back to broom form, and dashing once again back to her tower. Constanze landed a final crit, dropping Akko low. The root expired, and she began retreating. The final tower hit her. She survived on 47 HP. That was uncomfortably close.

Constanze looked at the chat log. In the fight, she'd missed that Sucy had secured the stage. Jasminka had fallen back, and recalled to resume jungling. Constanze had taken most of the tower. The loss of the stage hurt, but they'd gotten ahead in the lane, and gone even on kills. It was a good trade, for how things had started off.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

When Akko had missed with her wall, Diana had been surprised. The surprise had only lasted a second. As soon as she saw how Akko was moving, she realised what was going through her head. It was starting to become apparent to her why she couldn't download Akko's playstyle. Akko simply had refined her instincts for the character too well. Diana doubted Akko truly planned her moves. She was certain Akko didn't practice them. Instead she'd just spent so long with the kit, the way it clicked together was second nature to her. Where Diana saw the wall as a knock up, a spell you used to start the fight with a disable, and ideally block a path, Akko saw all of it. The wall, the knock up, the damage, and she picked what she needed from it and used that.

The fight was perfection. If Akko hadn't been hit with a crit, she'd have secured the kill. But she had been, and so she'd chosen to retreat. It was, in Diana's opinion, the wrong move. Constanze was worth more than Akko right now. Trading kills by hitting her again and letting the tower finish the kill was the correct choice. But Akko had bailed, and now they were both getting away.

“But wait ladies!” Wangari declared. “It looks like Akko's not done yet! She's switched to bow form!” Diana raised an eyebrow. Akko was clearly planning to use her Shiny Arc. But she didn't have any flares, or any vision on Constanze retreating to the middle of the lane.

“What an idiot.” Hannah muttered.

“She should have secured that kill.” Barbara agreed. “Now she'll miss it.” Diana frowned slightly. Somehow that seemed wrong. Then it dawned on her why. Constanze was retreating back to the middle, where her minions were headed. But two minions from the bottom wave on Akko's side had survived.

“Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank-Albrechtsberger is entering the vision of Akko's minions!” Wangari announced. Diana smiled ever so slightly at the obvious trick. By saying Constanze's full name, Wangari had given herself just enough time to see what happened, and make the correct call. Most people would miss it, but Diana liked paying attention for the casting tricks like that.

“And Akko wastes no time. She's going for it! The Shiny Arc!” Wangari shouted. She slowed down as she said Shiny Arc, announcing it much like it was said all those years ago when Chariot played. Around the room, several girls joined in the cry as well, and Diana had to resist the urge to do so as well. It wouldn't be appropriate. She wasn't an 8 year old girl anymore. The arrow flew from Akko, and hit Constanze, killing her in a green explosion.

“And Akko secures the kill! What a crazy game this is turning into folks!” Wangari continued. Diana let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

“Okay, that wasn't too bad.” Barbara admitted.

“It was probably just luck though.” Hannah retorted. Barbara nodded. Diana could hear the lack of conviction in their voices. She agreed with it. That wasn't luck. Akko had seen that coming, and prepared for it. Akko immediately recalled, and healed up. She then went ahead and purchased a big AD item, with a little bit of cooldown reduction on it. It'd at least keep her bow and hook form available, but Diana suspected she'd upset the balance and cost herself the axe and broom form. They hadn't practised that transition, which was probably why they were making it. The green team wouldn't be ready for the AD spike from Akko. Sucy had also recalled, and the two walked out into lane as the first wave of stage empowered minions entered the battlefield. The next three waves for the red team would be empowered with extra health and damage. Uncontested, they could push to barracks before dying. Usually they didn't make it that far. With a tower already down, Diana suspected they might get a lane a little further. Not that it mattered, of course. By the time they were approaching the base, everyone would be respawned and ready to contest the minions.

That didn't mean the minions didn't have an easy time of it to start. Akko and Sucy shoved out the lane they hadn't pushed before, crushing the first tower in that lane, and pushing on to the second. They destroyed it quite easily too, while the minions in the top wave managed to destroy the second tower there alone. The green team was on the ropes from here. It likely wouldn't go much longer.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

They were ahead. They were really far ahead. Amanda and Constanze had just respawned as they reached the tier 3 towers, and so Akko and Sucy were forced to back off. They couldn't take a fight until Lotte got back. She was coming with the third, and final stage empowered minion wave. It'd be the last chance the team got to push until the stage came back up. Magic Marksman was an excellent wave clearer, and the time they'd spent on the stage had let her get well ahead of them. She'd easily be able to destroy any other push before it even started. Unless they got a set of barracks down, then they could keep the pressure up.

Akko and Sucy both bought a few potions, and threw them on the courier. Odds were good they'd be facing a lot of poke, and they needed the sustain to stay in the fights. Then they hung back and waited for Lotte.

“What's the plan?” Akko asked.

“I think we just push up with the wave and pick a fight under tower.” Sucy replied.

“Can we fight under tower?” Lotte asked softly.

“I have ult.” Sucy explained. Akko wasn't sure how that related, but she didn't want to ask. She'd see in the fight.

“I don't yet.” Lotte said.

“Jasminka shouldn't either.” Sucy replied. Akko nodded. That was the important bit. Jasminka's ult would mess them up if she could drop it. “What's the time on your ult?”

“15 seconds.” Lotte answered. She walked up beside them.

“Okay. Not long enough. Lotte, you push up.” Sucy called. She paused. “Assuming our captain doesn't mind?”

“Lotte, you push up!” Akko declared.

“There we go.” Sucy muttered. Lotte advanced up the ramp, and into the base. The tower was targeting the minions for the moment, and only Amanda was visible, dancing back and forth. She immediately targeted Lotte, and advanced as she attacked. The damage was sizeable, and Lotte quickly activated her shield to buff up her HP pool. Lotte turned and advanced on Amanda. Amanda dodged around her, and advanced on Akko. Akko frowned. That was weird. Why would she expose herself like that?

A big bullseye appeared around Akko, and she realised what the plan was. Constanze was targeting her with Magic Marksman's ult. It was a long range single target nuke, similar to the Shiny Arc, without the explosion. It also did a lot more damage. Amanda was coming to secure the kill.

“Akko, swap to Armour.” Sucy ordered. Akko did so. A second later she heard the crack of Magic Marksman's shot going off. She watched the projectile sail out of the fog, towards her head. Then she noticed something. A faint red aura hovered over her, drawing a link between her and Amanda. Sucy had used her ult on her. The bullet hit, dropping Akko low. So low, she knew she'd be dead with just a little bit less armour. Then the damage was reflected to all enemies in range. Only Amanda was in range.

 

**MushroomMistress has slain NoCause**

 

“Sucy! You did it!” Akko exclaimed. She immediately ran into the fog, and activated a potion.

“Of course I did it.” Sucy replied. She sounded very pleased with herself. “You were good bait though.” Akko felt like she should be insulted by that. She wasn't.

“Thank you.” She replied, grinning. Akko hung back and watched as Sucy advanced into the base with Lotte, ignoring the tower, and charging at Constanze and Jasminka. Jasminka tried to slow them down, but Lotte shoved her aside. Sucy activated her W, followed by her Q on Constanze. They chased them halfway to the fountain before Sucy landed a hit on Constanze, slowing her. The fight didn't last long. Sucy had too many stacks, and too much lifesteal with her Q. Constanze crumpled, and Jasminka followed.

 

_[13:06]NoCause: gg_

 

Akko breathed out a sigh of relief. There was a short delay, and then the enemy core exploded.

 

**VICTORY**

 

Akko stepped out of the booth to a polite round of applause. She smiled, and waved to the crowd. One of the girls waved back. After a second Akko stopped. It felt silly waving to such a tiny crowd. But it was the first crowd that had clapped for her, and Chariot always waved to her crowds. Across the room the green team was also stepping out of their booth. Akko walked towards them, Sucy and Lotte following behind her. Amanda lead her team forward too, and they met in front of the crowd. Akko paused. Amanda looked down at her, and for a second Akko wasn't sure what to do. Was Amanda angry? Was she upset?

“Good game.” Amanda said finally, flashing Akko a grin and offering a hand. Akko shook it.

“Yeah!” She agreed.

“Man, that fight with Cons was pretty clever.” Amanda remarked. “We were sure you'd let us take two towers.”

“Well, I don't know about that.” Akko said sheepishly. “It's just something I picked up y'know?”

“And that was a really good ult Sucy. You got me good.” Amanda added, turning to look at Sucy.

“Thanks. You were pretty predictable though.” Sucy replied. Amanda laughed.

“Good luck against the blue team.” She said, before giving them a quick nod, and heading off. The red team made their way over to the seats as well. They hadn't actually watched the matches that the green and blue teams played last round. Akko had been too busy eating. This was the first time she'd get to see how Diana played against other people.

There wasn't much to see, unfortunately. Diana was technically brilliant, and she easily stomped over her lane. Barbara and Hannah were almost as brutally efficient, though Barbara did die in a fight one time. She was the only death the blue team had. Over the course of 14 minutes, the blue team methodically picked apart their opponents, and secured the win.

“Wow.” Akko said as the game ended.

“We're so fucked.” Sucy muttered.

“What? No way! We're gonna win!” Akko declared confidently. Lotte smiled at her hesitantly.

“I'm not so sure...” She replied.

“We've got the perfect plan!” Akko insisted. “When are we up?”

“They're taking a ten minute break.” Sucy replied. The break felt like a lot more than 10 minutes. They'd only been waiting 5 when Ursula came up to them, looking very sheepish.

“Since you're facing the blue team again, I wanted to see if you would mind if I advised them?” Ursula asked. “I asked Amanda, and she's willing to act as your coach for this game, if you don't mind.” Akko smiled. She was a little disappointed that Ursula wouldn't be there to coach her again, but she'd rather have a coach. Plus she didn't want Diana to claim they'd only won with a cheap trick because she didn't have a coach.

“We don't mind!” Akko replied. Ursula smiled.

“Thank you. Good luck girls.” She said, as she walked off. Amanda walked over a minute later.

“Alright, you guys got a plan?” Amanda asked. Akko nodded.

“Yeah!”

“Lay it on me.” Amanda said. So Akko started to explain it. As the plan got laid out more and more, Amanda's grin grew bigger and bigger. When finally the plan had been explained, Amanda nodded. “They won't know what hit them.” She announced.

 

The last few minutes passed quickly enough, and soon Akko was settled into her seat, chat window open with Diana to do bans.

 

_DCavendish 2:14_

 

_We ban Blue Moon_

 

_Akko 2:14_

 

_Ohana!_

 

They had spent several minutes arguing about banning Ohana. The cheese wouldn't work there, so it had to be removed, but Akko didn't want to. She'd never banned Ohana before. Plus, Diana would probably ban it anyway. But Sucy had insisted it was necessary, and Lotte agreed, so she'd relented.

 

_DCavendish 2:15_

 

_Polaris_

 

_Akko 2:15_

 

_Tower_

 

_DCavendish 2:15_

 

_Forest_

 

_Akko 2:15_

 

_Rastavan_

 

“We got it!” Akko crowed in glee.

“Nice.” Sucy said. “She fell for it.” Akko nodded. It'd been a gamble, but they assumed Diana wouldn't ban the map they wanted. She never had before.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Fruitland. They were playing on Fruitland. In all her career, Diana had played three games on Fruitland. None of them by choice. She despised the map. It was even worse than Ohana for how it destroyed games. The jungle was lined with lemons, small, destructible objects which dropped a small sum of gold and a healing token when destroyed. Farming lemons wasn't as fast as farming creeps, but the only risk to it was running into another hero in the jungle. Most junglers would alternate between hitting creeps and farming lemons to heal themselves back up.

Despite never playing it, Diana also never banned it. It was generally regarded as one of the wonkiest maps in the game, and for that reason almost everyone would be willing to spend a ban on it, depriving them of a more important ban. It was like playing a game of Fruitland chicken. Except against Akko, there was no winning. She had just let the game be played on Fruitland.

“Diana, what are we going to do?” Hannah asked hesitantly. Fruitland posed them a problem. They didn't use jungling strategies. The invitation to the game popped up, and Diana accepted.

“We're better in lane than they are.” Diana replied calmly. “We'll play it standard. If one of them tries to jungle, we'll abuse the weakened lane.”

“What composition are we using?” Barbara asked.

“I think we should first pick Gravity again.” Diana answered. “Akko was rather weak against her, and if they pick a countering composition, we can simply move her to support.”

“Yes Diana!” The two girls chorused. They sounded calmer now. That was good. Diana didn't feel calmer. She was still furious at herself for letting this happen. Arcturus Forest was almost as perfect as Rastavan Ruins, all she had to do was pick Fruitland and let Akko pick her poison. She might've picked Forest anyway, and they'd have gotten what they wanted anyway.

The game started, and the pick phase began. Diana immediately picked Gravity Queen and locked her in. There was no delay in the reveal, showing that Akko had predictably picked Moonlit Witch. The red team got the first open pick, and Akko immediately grabbed Loyal Defender as well. Diana sighed.

“And here I hoped they'd bring us something new.” She mused. They'd just played this exact composition twice before. Diana picked Fallen Angel and Empress, and leant back in her chair, awaiting the inevitable Sorrow Demon pick.

Akko picked Trickster. Diana frowned. What were they thinking with that pick? A jungler wouldn't help them any with a support to go in lane. And Trickster's kit was easy to play around if you were careful. It's like they wanted to lose.

“What a terrible composition.” Barbara remarked.

“Maybe they want an excuse when they lose.” Hannah suggested.

“That must be it!” Barbara agreed, as they both laughed. Diana agreed. There was no other reason for this composition that she could see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hero Profile for Gravity Queen  
> Roles: Carry, Support, Nuked, Disabler, Initiator
> 
> Gravity Slide(Passive): After a short time moving, Gravity Queen enters into a Gravity Slide. While in a Gravity Slide, Gravity Queen gains bonus move speed, and ignores all impassable terrain. If Gravity Queen stops, or attempts to turn too sharply, she will stop the Gravity Slide.
> 
> Gravity Throw(Q): Gravity Queen throws out a stasis field around her, grabbing 4 objects from her surroundings, as well as any incoming projectiles. If she has one or more objects currently in her stasis field, she instead throws one of these objects dealing damage in a small area, and slowing all enemies hit by the object. If that object was a projectile, it deals damage and applies status effects as if from the original spell.  
> Gravity Kick(W): Gravity Queen twists gravity and hurls herself at her target, dealing damage on impact based on her speed at time of impact. She accelerates through the kick at a rate based on her AP. When she hits, she bounces off, landing a short distance away from the target. If this spell is cast again while the kick is in motion, Gravity Queen can pick where she lands.  
> Gravity Shift(E): Gravity Queen shifts gravity in a small area, forcing everything in that area to fall away. All characters in this area are pushed to the edge, and all characters attempting to enter are immediately pushed back.  
> Micro Black Hole(R): Gravity Queen turns herself into a micro black hole, immediately sucking in all enemies in her radius, and damaging them each second.  
> Panther Form(Alt R): Gravity Queen assumes Panther Form. She ignores all collision, gains max move speed, and deals bonus damage based on her AP on all attacks.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here, we, go. It's the one you've all been waiting for! Red team vs blue team!
> 
> Quick little side note since I don't recall if I said anything about it, but "GG" stands for "Good Game" It's also used as a verb to refer to conceding defeat, since it's usually the last thing typed before the game ends. In Magical Burst, much like Dota 2, professional games are surrendered by typing "GG", which begins a short (15 second) countdown, during which the surrender can be cancelled.
> 
> Now, I hope you enjoy! There'll be some extra notes at the back.
> 
> P.S. I only just got around to doing the Gravity Queen profile, it's on the back of Chapter Nine, check it out for a little context on this game.

**\---DIANA---**

 

“Hi hi!” Gravity Queen called, as she turned to wave up at the camera. Diana hadn't thought much of that the first time it happened, but over time she was starting to grow fond of it. In fact, she was growing fond of all of Gravity Queen's lines. They were simple, but endearing. She opened the shop, and quickly picked up an AP talisman, as well as a health and mana potion. Gravity Queen was a mana hungry hero with her Q. With that done, she set off for lane. She didn't have to move far before Gravity Queen's passive kicked in, and she picked up speed as she started sliding across the ground.

Diana found Gravity Queen fascinating, in a strange way. Unlike most of the other heroes in Magical Burst, Gravity Queen had been added in as part of a promotion. The character was based on Kat, the main character of Gravity Rush, and for that reason her kit behaved differently. While every other character's motif was, ultimately, built around the mechanics that had been designed for them, Gravity Queen's kit had to be built to fit the original character. For that reason, she was one of the few characters in the game that possessed multiple ults. They were, of course, locked behind the transformation wand, an item dating back to a different time of the game, which enabled characters to access alternate forms of themselves, but they were there none the less, and contributed massively to her mixed position as both a carry and a support.

Diana slid out to her second tower, and stopped there. Gravity Queen took a second to stop, as she stopped sliding, and took two steps forward to catch herself. Adorable. While sliding, Gravity Queen gained speed, and could cross most impassable terrain, but her turning radius was hampered, forcing her to make awkward turns to keep the passive going. If she was given too sharp a turn order, she'd snap out of it immediately. Lots of players used this to rush into lane, or slide into an unusual position on the map to catch enemies out. Diana had watched it go wrong too many times for her to consider doing it this early in the game. So she sat under her tower and waited. In the bottom lane, Barbara and Hannah were doing the same thing.

After a moment of waiting, the minions arrived at the tower, and Diana started to advance with them.

 

_[1:07]Akko:GLHF!_

 

Diana smiled a tiny bit. Of course Akko would say that. She hit enter to respond. She was halfway through typing when a hook flew from the bush nestled onto the corner between her first tower and the jungle. Her hands weren't on the mouse, and none of her hotkeys were available. She was utterly powerless to stop the hook from hitting her. She was dragged into the bush, and immediately hit with a stun.

Akko, Lotte and Sucy were all waiting for her in there. As soon as she landed, Akko swapped to bow form, and they tore into her. The damage was astounding, and in an instant Diana was killed. She frowned. That was dirty. That was really dirty.

“Girls.” Diana said calmly. “It seems they don't want to play fair. We'll have to teach them some manners.”

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

It had worked! They'd successfully pulled off the gank! And the cheeky chat trick had worked too. That had been Sucy's idea. Originally Akko had been sceptical, but after a few times on the ladder she realised it worked. Then she'd been outraged. It was a cheap trick, and she wouldn't stand for it. She had been quite insistent of that, until Barbara and Hannah had tripped her after one of their practice sessions, and laughed about it. Diana had simply pretended not to notice. After that, she was convinced they deserved it.

Now that they'd pulled off the first trick, it was time for the cheese to really begin. They'd crafted very strange rune pages for this match. Sucy was running full AD. Akko had full AD apart from a little CDR to enable hook form. Lotte had an even split of armour and HP regen. As the enemy creeps appeared, Lotte moved out into the line, drawing their aggro. Sucy and Akko sprung out after her, and laid into the creeps, trying to kill as many as they could before their creeps reached the tower. They got two. As soon as the first enemy tower targeted the creeps, Akko and Sucy turned their focus on it.

Akko had just over 100 AD. Sucy had almost as much. Together they could destroy the tower in just 16 hits each. A full wave of creeps, uncontested, would contribute around 4 extra hits worth of damage. Which meant if they landed 8 hits each across two waves like this, they'd have the tower down exceptionally early. They laid into the tower. By the time the last creep fell, they'd dealt well more than half of the tower's health in damage. A stiff breeze after the next wave could knock it over.

“Barbara's left her lane.” Lotte called out. “And Diana's respawned.”

“Got it!” Akko replied. She and Sucy retreated back to the bush, and Sucy re-trapped it. They had a ward placed in the jungle to watch their back, and make sure no one snuck up on their very unusual position. They waited, trying to see what was happening. Barbara showed up on the map, moving past their ward and towards the lane. She was avoiding going near their bush, and instead headed into the lane near the middle.

For a split second Diana appeared, as she surfed from one piece of terrain to the next in her bid to get into position. Akko was pretty sure she was in range. So she swapped back to hook form, and fired into the fog. She hit, and Diana was dragged back into the bush. Once again, the team descended on her, and tore her to shreds in a second. The kill gave them enough experience to level up.

“That felt cruel.” Lotte remarked softly.

“She deserved it.” Sucy replied. “Akko, let's grab a lemon.”

“Right.” Akko agreed. She and Sucy turned on a nearby lemon, and started hitting it, while Lotte stepped back out into lane to tank the minions. The minion wave for the red team was intercepted by Barbara, but she was quickly driven back. Unlike Lotte, she hadn't built around having to tank a minion wave, and the damage quickly put her in danger, forcing her to duck into the bush.

“Lotte, we finished with this lemon!” Akko called, as they headed back for the lane. The minions arrived under tower, and Akko and Sucy went back to attacking it, while Lotte rotated down to the destroyed lemon, and picked up the gold, and most importantly, health. She returned to the lane, just as the tower fell.

“We're doing it!” Akko declared.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Diana grit her teeth. This was ridiculous. She couldn't believe they were actually cheesing this game. It wasn't even a particularly clever cheese. Just an obnoxious 3-woman gank squad that enabled them to cut the lane. Beside her she could feel Barbara and Hannah's tension as well. They could tell she was angry, and they were trying not to make it worse. Diana took a deep breath.

Being killed twice was frustrating. Being denied any experience for 2 minutes of the game was frustrating. But it wasn't the end of the world. Hannah had been farming out her lane solo, and was almost level 3. The red team was technically ahead now. But they'd committed a lot to getting this lead, and now they needed to do something with it. Diana meanwhile, just had to get back into the game. To do that, she needed to avoid letting herself get tilted. That was the entire point of a cheese. Confuse your opponent, annoy them, and put them on tilt.

“Okay. Hannah, you keep laning like that until they try and stop you. Barbara see if you can soak that lane, while I try and catch up in the jungle.” Diana instructed. “We'll aim for 6, and try and catch them in a fight before they're ready.”

“Yes Diana!” The girls chorused happily. They seemed to be feeling better at least. Diana set a course through the bottom lane. Since they were lurking in their jungle, she'd just have to farm the red team jungle. It was only fair, and they'd never see it coming. If she hit 6 quickly, they could turn the tides. Jungling wasn't hard with Gravity Queen at least. Her Q gave her a decent source of burst damage, and being a melee hero her base AD was quite respectable as well. Diana slid out to the first jungle camp, and started clearing it. She killed it easily enough, but took a decent chunk of damage in the process. Thankfully, there was a nearby lemon for her to replenish her health on, and secure a little more gold in the process.

Diana glanced at the mini-map. The red team hadn't abandoned their push. They'd changed their tack a bit however. Akko and Lotte lurked near the gap between the base and the second tower, pressuring Barbara with their presence and threatening a dive. They could also pull creeps away from the lane and into the jungle from there, allowing Sucy to continue to shove the lane up. It wasn't as fast as the first tower, but they'd easily have the tower down by the 5 minute mark. Hannah at least was continuing to power up in the lane, and she was shoving the tower down herself.

Diana returned her focus to jungling, and tried to block out the distraction of their situation. If she thought about it too hard she'd start getting annoyed again, and she needed to be calm. They were fine. Everything was going to be fine.

 

**Akko has slain BParker**

 

“Sorry” Barbara called. “One of the minions was trapped.”

“That's quite alright. You're just trying to soak experience, but they're not making it easy I see.” Diana replied. “I'm level 3 now. How are you going Hannah?”

“Level 5.” Hannah replied. Diana pressed tab and checked the others. They were all also level 3. Things weren't quite going to plan yet, but it was doable.

“Barbara. Hang back under our third tower and try and soak from there.” Diana announced. “Your ultimate doesn't matter as much as ours, so just keep pace and we'll be okay.” The game progressed much as Diana predicted from there. Hannah was making progress pushing down the bottom tower, but she wasn't near as fast as the combined pushing power of three heroes, and so when she got it down, the red team got the second top tower seconds later. By that stage Hannah was level 7, and Diana was level 5. The red team had only hit level 4. If they didn't back down, they were doomed. They didn't back down. Instead they advanced on the tower in the base.

“I'm almost to 6. As soon as I get it, we'll recall and punish them for pushing up.” Diana called.

“Yes Diana!” The girls chorused again. Diana moved over to the next camp and started working through it.

 

**MushroomMistress has slain B** **P** **arker**

 

“Uh, Diana?” Barbara asked softly.

“Yes?” Diana replied.

“Did you account for them being sappers?” Barbara asked. Diana clicked on the map to drag her camera to the top lane. Akko, Lotte and Sucy were all wailing on the tower with their minions. The tower was dark, and not attacking, indicated it'd been hit with a sapper, a consumable item which dealt a little damage and disabled a tower for a few seconds. She watched as one wore off, and immediately another was activated. She pressed tab and checked the items. They'd each bought one. That would give them enough time to kill the tower with a single wave.

“Shit.” Diana muttered. She hit the space bar, and the camera jumped back to her. She finished off the camp and hit 6 as the tower fell. “We need to go in as soon as Barbara's back.”

 

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Everything was going great! It wasn't even 6 minutes into the game, and they'd taken three towers. All they had to do now was grab the barracks, and rotate away. With one lane demolished, Sucy would go jungle, while Akko and Lotte laned like normal in the bottom lane. The lane they'd pushed out would spawn much tougher minions, too tough to be killed easily, and not worth as much gold on a last hit.

Akko moved up to start hitting the barracks. Lotte and Sucy were both melee heroes, which would put them at risk if they advanced too far forward. Instead they hung back, a half step behind Akko to jump in if the blue team went in on her. They were rather melee heavy, with both Gravity Queen and Empress being melee heroes. That meant to get to Akko, they'd have to expose themselves to the rest of the team.

The barracks dropped to half health fairly quickly, before the next wave of minions spawned, and their minions got distracted. Akko focused on the building, it was their priority. Hannah had returned to the base, and was lurking nearby. She was level 7, which made her a real threat to them if she got a good engage. The way they were right now however, denied her the engage she wanted. Diana meanwhile, was no where to be seen.

“Fallen's back up.” Sucy muttered. Akko nodded.

“Maybe we should pick a fight? Try and take out Empress before things go bad?” She suggested.

“I think we should wait.” Lotte replied softly. Akko nodded. That would be smart. But Hannah was right there. It'd be easy to land a hook and lock her down.

“I'm going for it!” Akko declared. She stepped forward, stutter stepping towards Hannah while continuing to work over the barracks. Hannah wasn't falling back, and soon Akko found herself in hook range. Behind her, Sucy threw down a trap on a minion, and followed her forward.

“Here we go.” Sucy muttered softly. Lotte sighed, and also followed them forward. Akko swapped to hook form, and fired at Hannah. She hit, and Empress came zooming towards the team. Then Diana appeared, surging towards them. She was level 6.

“Oh no.” Lotte whispered. Akko wasn't sure why. She couldn't do that much right? As she flew towards the team, Lotte threw her E on Akko, and activated her shield. Gravity Queen kicked Trickster, before flying off her and over the team, landing behind them. Lotte reacted instantly, slamming Diana back with her E. Then Diana used her ult.

Gravity Queen transformed into a black hole. Lotte and Sucy were immediately pulled into it, and stunned in place, as were all of their minions. Damage slowly ticked to all of them. Akko was sitting on the edge of the radius, and it occurred to her if Lotte hadn't hit Diana, she'd have been caught too. Hannah ignored her, moving in on Akko's disabled team mates, and laying into them. Akko swapped to bow form, and started focusing down Hannah. She was going to get this kill for sure at least. She just didn't know if she'd be able to save her team. Empress did bonus damage to disabled targets, and she'd picked up a cleave item, allowing her to damage both heroes at once.

Hannah dropped to about half health before she got close to landing the first kill. She was two hits from killing Sucy. She landed the first hit, and was immediately stunned. The cleave had killed Sucy's trick minion, triggering the damage and stun. It was powerful, chunking Hannah for most of her health. Barbara arrived to the fight a second too late to stop Akko from landing the final blow, killing Hannah. Barbara hit Akko with her W, and started attacking her too. The attacks didn't do much damage, but Akko didn't have much health. They traded a few blows, and Barbara dropped low, before activating her E, and going temporarily ethereal.

Diana's ult ended, and she immediately hit Lotte and Sucy with her Q, bursting Sucy down, and dropping Lotte low. Akko turned her attention to Diana. She was the real threat here. She stutter stepped forward again, trying to join up with Lotte, and get away from the threat Barbara posed her. If both Diana and Barbara hit their spells on her, Akko was dead for sure. Thankfully, Diana was focused on Lotte for the moment.

Akko reached the edge of the base as Lotte fell. Diana and Barbara were turning on her, but both were fairly low. So Akko aimed her W at them, and fired. She clipped Barbara, killing her quickly, and dropping Diana low. Even low, Diana could still kill her with a solid combo. But she didn't try. Instead she turned, and started running. Akko shrugged. She wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Akko cast Shiny Arc on Diana. She glanced up for a second at the crowd, and saw a few people shouting as the spell channelled. She grinned, and looked back down at the screen. The arrow flew through the air, chasing Diana, and granting vision as it went. Then, as it closed in, Diana activated her Q again. A quick bubble of distorted colour appeared around Diana, clipping the incoming Shiny Arc. The arrow immediately stopped travelling forward, and settled into orbit around Gravity Queen, along with four rocks.

“Oh no.” Akko said softly. She turned, and ran. It was no use. A moment later Diana appeared over a piece of terrain, and unloaded the full combo of her Q onto Akko. The rocks dropped her low. The arrow hit her, and exploded, killing.

 

**DCavendish has slain Akko**

**ACE**

 

**\---URSULA---**

 

A sad smile crept across Ursula's face as she watched the fight come to an end. The game was over. It wouldn't actually end for another fifteen minutes, of course, but it was over. The red team had put all their eggs in one basket, and the blue team had just smashed that basket. A less stubborn team would make one more push for the barracks, and then throw out a “GG”. Some might even just throw it out now and save themselves the time. But Ursula knew Akko wouldn't give up. She'd play it out all the way. Probably because she didn't realise just how hopeless the situation was.

It was well and truly hopeless however. Diana had been up on gold before the fight, and the win had just put her another 1000 gold ahead of them. She'd saved up enough to buy her transformation wand. There was a chance for the red team to make something happen with their ults, but without any synergy within them it was an incredible long shot.

As soon as Diana cleared the next wave, she ducked back to the shop and bought the transformation wand. There was a murmur through the crowd, as Wangari crowed about this development. It was a major deal, after all. Diana didn't make any powerful moves while the red team was dead. She pushed the top wave out, clearing it fast with her Q, and advanced up to the tower, guiding the minions the whole way, and clearing the next wave that spawned, before pulling back hard, all the way back to the base. It was conservative, but Ursula could respect it. The only way they lost now was if Diana got caught out alone across the map when everyone respawned.

Once everyone had respawned, the red team returned to the top lane, and shoved it back. The experience pushed them all up to level 6. It was, in some ways, the correct choice. In theory, Diana had used her ult, and thus didn't have it anymore. Lotte could buy them time with her ult, while Akko and Sucy took the barracks and pulled back. They'd be sacrificing Lotte in the process, but the objective this early was worth it. They played the fight exactly as Ursula predicted. Lotte charged forward and ulted, drawing Hannah and Barbara onto her. Diana had hung back a half pace, and so was just barely out of range when the ult started. Lotte advanced on her. Diana activated her ult in response.

Gravity Queen transformed. Her upper half was replaced with a giant panther. She moved much faster, and her attack speed increased drastically as she tore into Lotte. Her damage was amplified by a portion of her AP, and she tore Lotte to shreds in no time. Akko and Sucy barely got a chance to start on the barracks before Diana was charging them down. She hit Akko first, making quick work of her, before turning on Sucy. This ace was decisive, and the team split up to shove down both lanes. They knocked down two towers in the bottom lane, and one in the top before the red team respawned.

That was the tipping point for the game. The red team tried to come back, but the blue team was simply too far ahead. It took them another five minutes, but eventually the blue team won.

“And there you have it ladies and gentlemen!” Wangari shouted into the mic. “The blue team are your new Witches Cup champions!” The girls stepped out of the booth, and walked up onto the stage. “Congratulations to Diana, Hannah and Barbara! Now let's go to coach Finnelan with an announcement!” Finnelan was standing on the stage, waiting for the blue team. She had a large trophy in her hand, which she handed to Diana, with some soft congratulations. She shook hands with each of them, and the girls took a moment to pose on the stage, as their picture was taken.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ursula could see Akko sulking in the corner. She felt sorry for her, but it wasn't unexpected. It'd been a long shot for them, and they'd come very close. Closer than they had any right to. Akko probably didn't realise that though. Ursula made a point to go and reassure her later. For the moment, she needed to listen to the announcement. Whatever it was, it was a secret to her too.

“Congratulations again to the blue team. As expected, Miss Diana is proving to be an excellent addition to the team. I encourage everyone to watch her replays and see what they can learn from her.” Finnelan began. “And now on to the important business. Edinburgh Esports Exposition is on in a week's time. As I'm sure you're all aware, it's a large, two week event, which features a 64 team tournament. Luna Nova has been seeded for three teams, which the Witches Cup was being held to determine. As champions, we will be sending the blue team, as runners up we will be sending the red team, and as they all share a coach, we will be sending the green team. The event starts in two weeks, so you'll have a bit of time to rest and practice before you go. In the meantime, those of you not selected will be co-ordinating with your coach to help the selected teams practice.”

Ursula frowned slightly at the news. Most of the girls seemed pleased by the news. That was because they didn't realise what three seeds meant. Last year they had four seeds. Three years before that it was five. When Ursula had been playing, they had a full eight seeds. The team really was falling on hard times if they'd lost another seed this year. And that meant it was on her to whip her girls into shape. She looked across the room at Akko, who had already forgotten her loss, and was celebrating with the rest of the red team, and the green team.

“She's something, isn't she?” Diana remarked from beside Ursula. Ursula jumped slightly, and glanced over at Diana.

“Yes, she really is.” Ursula agreed.

“Are we practising tonight?” Diana asked.

“No. Go have fun. We'll start again tomorrow morning.” Ursula replied. Diana nodded.

“Have a good day coach Ursula.” She said, before walking off, leaving Ursula staring at Akko again. She really was something. And today, she could rest. She'd earned it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hero Profile for Fallen Angel  
> Roles: Support, Durable, Escape, Disable
> 
> Touch of Divinity(Passive): Any time an ally is effected by one of Fallen Angel's spells, they receive the Touch of Divinity buff for 6 seconds. Any time an enemy is effected by one of Fallen Angel's spells, they receive the Touch of Torment debuff for 6 seconds. Any time a character with the Touch of Divinity deals damage to a character with the Touch of Torment, they deal bonus damage.
> 
> Divine Blessing(Q): Fallen Angel blesses an ally with a small touch of her remaining divinity. She heals the target allied champion, and gives them a short move speed buff.  
> Torment of the Fallen(W): Fallen Angel draws on the torment of her existance, and hurls it upon her foes, healing herself in the process.  
> Moment of Ascension(E): Fallen Angel jumps to the heavens for a moment. She gains increased move speed and becomes untargetable for a short duration. All allies she passes over gain bonus move speed and regeneration. All enemies she passes over are slowed, and have their regeneration disabled.  
> Angelic Host(R): Fallen Angel sounds a horn, calling forth her allies. Angels fall from the heavens in a radius around her, healing all allies on contact. Demons rise from the ground in the same radius, dealing a small amount of damage to enemies hit by them, and rooting them in place for 1 second.
> 
> POST NOTES: Aha! I lied! We don't have Empress defined yet! Sorry about that, but Cheeses make for short games, y'know? Anyway, in case it wasn't obvious before, the Witches Cup is a very rough analogy for the Race episode. That won't likely be happening again anytime soon, as I don't want to spoil outcomes for the games by letting you see the parallels. Coming up next, some cute, fluffy, and a bit gay chapters!


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is 6am. I should NOT be up this late writing but hey, here I am. Why? Because the next chapter is so damn cute and leans into my aesthetic so hard I couldn't NOT finish it. Anyway, hope you enjoy this one, we get a bit of everyone, and some build up to the next glorious chapter!
> 
> This chapter contains two games. I do not recommend the one Akko plays. I don't...not recommend it. I just...don't recommend it. The one Diana plays however? It's amazing, they deserve all the love, go buy it and play it. It only takes you 5-6 hours. You could be done before the next chapter! I probably will be! Cause I started playing it again last night.
> 
> And finally, no hero spotlight because it's 6am and I didn't write one and really who cares right now there's no games for a bit, I've got time.

**\---AMANDA---**

 

It was disappointing that the red team won. Amanda had really hoped they'd pull it off. But she couldn't really complain. She hadn't watched the game, so much as she'd watched Diana's face throughout it. It had been hilarious. Diana probably didn't realise she was doing it, but she clearly reacted to everything. It only took a second, and she recomposed herself quickly, but that second of frustration was glorious. She had been so close to going on tilt, and it showed. Barbara and Hannah had looked absolutely distraught at first. It was the best gift Akko could've possibly given Amanda, and she was so happy.

Or she had been, until the team announcements were made. The green team was going to Edinburgh with the others. That was great news. But the reason was bullshit. They were absolutely better than the other teams that had been in the Witches' Cup. To be relegated to an invite because their coach was also the coach of the two winning teams was total bullshit. Amanda was furious. More furious than she had any right to be, she knew.

It hadn't been a problem at first. When she was laughing with Akko about Diana's reaction, she'd been fine. Seeing Diana walk up and receive the trophy with her dignified air had been great.

“God she's such a try hard.” Amanda had muttered softly. Akko nodded in agreement.

“They didn't even say gg.” Akko replied.

“Rude.” Amanda said. She almost never said gg herself, so she couldn't really judge. But she was going to anyway. They deserved the scorn. She'd remained fine throughout the announcement, and having dinner with the red team to celebrate. But now that she was back in her room, she couldn't feel anything but frustration. She lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling and stewing in her anger for a while, before finally it was too much. She needed to do something. She settled in front of the computer. They had a night off. She should take the chance to play something fun. Something fast, and brutal. She wasn't sure what yet, but she'd work it out.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko wasn't sure what to do with herself. She had a day off from practice. She should do something fun. Play a game she had been meaning to play, or something. The only problem was she didn't have any games she wanted to play. She'd been so focused on Magical Burst the past few months as her application to Luna Nova came up, that she'd neglected to keep an eye on upcoming games. Not that she could afford anything right now. So she looked at her back catalogue. There were a lot of VNs in there.

Akko wasn't much one for reading, but she did like a good story. So when she got the itch for one, she'd play through a VN. Most of them were kind of trashy, but she occasionally found one that she really liked. Looking through the list, she spotted a game called HuniePop. She'd heard some alright things about it and it looked fluffy enough. It was a dating sim, but Akko wasn't opposed to those. She was pretty gay after all. There wasn't any other reason to have a picture of Chariot in her underwear up on her wall. She opened the game. Immediately she received a few steam notifications.

 

_MushroomMistress: Do you really have to broadcast that to everyone?_

_NoCause: Dude. Really?_

 

Akko frowned. What was the big deal? Did they have a problem with VNs? Akko was about to respond, when the game finished loading. She could deal with them later. For the moment, she wanted to play the game. She started a new file as a girl, and got stuck in. The premise was simple enough. She was a hopeless romantic being helped out by a fairy to get girls. The gameplay took the form of a match-3 style board, and was, all in all, pretty fun. Finally she got to the first real choice. Where to go first.

 

_NoCause: So wait, you're gay?_

 

Akko glanced down at the message. She should address that before Amanda started spamming her.

 

_NoCause: Yo_

_NoCause: Akko_

_Akko: Yes?_

_NoCause: Are you gay?_

_Akko: Yes?_

_NoCause: Oh, that was your answer lol_

_NoCause: Cool cool_

_Akko: Why?_

_NoCause: No reason_

_NoCause: Just curious_

_NoCause: lemme know if the porn in that is any good_

 

Akko paused. There was porn in this game? And she was letting everyone know she was playing it? Her face turned bright red, and she quickly set herself to offline. Then she turned her attention back to the choice. She picked Cafe. She was promptly introduced to two girls, a dark skinned girl with curly hair wearing what appeared to be a flight attendant uniform, and a girl in baggy clothes with blue hair. Neither of them were really Akko's type. Which really made Akko wonder. What was her type? It wasn't something she'd ever considered before. Perhaps the game would help her work it out. She shrugged, and carried on with the game.

 

**\---BARBARA---**

 

Barbara was surprised to find she wasn't angry the next morning when she saw Akko. After the finals she'd been in too good of a mood to be angry. They'd all been elated by the win, and the nature of the game hadn't mattered. To celebrate they'd driven into town, and gotten dinner. Over dinner they'd discussed Edinburgh, and come to the conclusion they needed to broaden their hero pool in preparation. After that, they'd gone home and simply relaxed. The night had been good, and Barbara couldn't muster the effort to be angry. She thought she should be, but the night had been so good, she wasn't. The next day, she assumed, she would be.

But she wasn't. Watching Akko standing in the practice room, chatting quietly with Amanda and blushing a lot, Barbara wasn't angry. She was slightly curious about why she was blushing, but that was about it. Even the contempt she usually felt wasn't there. Barbara thought about it for a moment. That was a lie. There was still some contempt. She still wasn't sure she should be part of Luna Nova. But she at least wasn't a total disgrace to the team. Not yet at least. They'd find out in Edinburgh.

“Good morning girls” Ursula said as she walked into the room. Akko immediately took a big step away from Amanda, and looked incredibly guilty. Barbara's curiosity grew even larger, and she glanced at Hannah to see if she'd seen it too. Hannah gave a small nod of affirmation, and they turned their attention back to Ursula.

“Good morning.” Diana replied.

“First of all, excellent work in the Witches' Cup. You were all incredible, and I'm sure you'll have a lot of fans at Edinburgh.” Ursula began. “But, you're not done yet. We've got a week to flesh out your hero pools. You'll all need to be able to play at least four heroes, and we need to practice them in different types of compositions.”

“Do I have to do that?” Akko asked immediately. Barbara rolled her eyes. Of course she wouldn't. She was Ursula's pet.

“No, but you will need to practice using twice as many rune pages.” Ursula replied. “Ideally by the end of the tournament we can have you playing on twenty pages.” Barbara frowned slightly. Twenty rune pages was a lot. How many possible variations could you even make to a rune page to make it worth while? She only ever made one rune page for each of her heroes.

“Okay!” Akko announced.

“Should we avoid overlapping our hero picks?” Diana asked. “Hannah and I have several heroes we want to play that overlap.” Ursula shook her head.

“A bit of overlap is fine. Especially ones like Gravity Queen.” Ursula answered. “Anything that can be played in two or more roles is good. Does anyone else have any questions, or can we start planning your new compositions?”

“Yeah, I've got a question.” Amanda said.

“Yes?”

“What happens if we don't want to go?” Amanda asked. There was a pause around the room.

“Oh, um, I don't think Luna Nova would send another team, so our slot would be converted into an offline slot.” Ursula answered. “Did something happen to make you not want to go?”

“Nah, I was just wondering. It seems kinda bullshit that we were picked just because you're our coach.” Amanda replied. A tiny smirk crossed Barbara's face. She hadn't even considered that fact.

“Well what do you expect?” Hannah asked, a look of unadulterated smugness on her face. “You did lose to Akko after all.”

“If the red team can beat you, clearly you can't be that good.” Barbara added.

“Really? Then what does that say about your leader who got gang-banged by them twice before she got any experience?” Amanda retorted. Akko turned bright red, and looked away. Barbara couldn't blame her. That was needlessly crass.

“Girls.” Ursula snapped. Everyone in the room froze. “Please calm down.” Ursula added in a softer tone. “Amanda, you were not chosen because I'm your coach. We all agreed your team was among the top three teams we had. Finnelan said that to avoid an argument because we didn't have time for a third place match.” Amanda sighed, and nodded.

“Yeah, sure.” She replied. “I'm going. Can we plan our compositions now?” Ursula nodded.

“Yes, we can.” She agreed. Barbara was looking forward to this part. She loved her Fallen Angel, but she wanted to spread her wings and get stuck into something new.

 

By the time the day was over, Barbara had changed her mind. She was angry at Akko. The first game they'd played she'd cheesed again. It was ridiculous. They didn't finish that game. Or any game, for that matter. Ursula insisted that today they would try out how each composition they could manage played in the early game. To that end, they ended each game at 5 minutes.

That would be fine, if not for the red team taking great pleasure in cheesing them regularly. Akko and Sucy giggled every time they snagged an early kill. Lotte, at least, had the common decency to look guilty when she ruined a game. By the end of the day however, Diana seemed to have developed a sixth sense for the cheese. She'd silently ping a bush, and without fail, the red team would be hiding in it.

Sometimes she'd encourage them to fall for the cheese, just to see what happened. At first, Barbara didn't get it. She'd refused the first time. After that game Diana pulled them aside.

“Why are we pretending we don't know they're cheesing?” Hannah demanded in a hissed whisper. Barbara nodded in agreement.

“We're basically throwing the game.” She agreed. Diana nodded slowly.

“I understand your concerns girls. But the point of today is to practice our openers.” She began. “Today we have the good graces of only playing against two teams. The red team is predictable when they cheese. At Edinburgh we will be playing against many teams, and they might not be so predictable. So, we need to practice how we respond to a bad opening.” Barbara frowned. So did Hannah.

“Okay, but do we have to let them do it?” Barbara asked, hissing out the word them. Diana nodded.

“The alternative is asking a lesser team to do it.” She replied. “Or encouraging the green team to cheese us instead.” Disgust crawled across Barbara's face. She glanced over to see that once again, Hannah had matched her look.

“Alright, fine. We'll fall for it next time.” Hannah conceded. Barbara nodded quickly.

The next time Diana pinged a bush, Barbara walked into it. As expected, she was torn apart by the red team. Despite that, they managed to pull it together, and shut down the cheese at the first tower. The next three cheeses were equally thwarted, and finally the red team gave up.

When the day finally came to a close, everyone was exhausted. Where normally they'd play around 15 games in a day, today they'd all played closer to 50. Sure, each game was only 5 minutes instead of the usual 15, but it meant resetting their brain for the game every time. It was exhausting, and Barbara just wanted to collapse onto their couch for an hour.

“Good job girls.” Ursula said as they all gathered around for the debrief. “I think you've all decided on what team compositions work best, so now we need to go over the travel plans. Then you can all go rest.” She was met with a chorus of groans. Only Diana seemed unaffected.

“What day are we leaving?” She asked.

“We're leaving on the 16th. We'll be arriving late, so you'll have the Sunday to get adjusted to being in Edinburgh, and then the event starts on the 18th.” Ursula answered.

“How are we getting there?” Amanda asked. Ursula hesitated.

“Well, um. The team isn't doing too well financially right now. So we had to take a late night train.” Ursula answered. “It's um, well, it's a bit of a tourist attraction.” Barbara's face fell. She knew the train Ursula meant. Barbara didn't know why that old piece of junk was allowed on the lines still. It was the last train from London to Edinburgh, leaving at around 7:30 at night, and taking 6 hours to get to Edinburgh. The average train took a little under 5.

“Do we at least have a hotel?” Barbara asked hopefully. Ursula nodded.

“Yes, we do have hotel rooms. Between all of us we've got 5 rooms, so we'll have to double up. Speaking of which, we should work out who's rooming with who.” Ursula explained. Barbara immediately reached out and grabbed Hannah.

“Sorry Diana.” She said softly. Diana nodded for a moment.

“It's quite alright. It doesn't bother me who I'm roomed with.” Diana answered.

“I'll room with Sucy.” Lotte offered.

“Please.” Sucy agreed. Barbara snorted softly. Of course the red team would want to avoid Akko. So two of the green team would room together, leaving the last one to bunk with Akko, and Diana would share the room with Ursula. That was a good solution. Then Barbara glanced at Amanda. She had a massive grin on her face. This wasn't going to be simple.

“Hey coach.” Amanda called.

“Yes?” Ursula replied.

“I was thinking right, what if we find ourselves against each other again. It wouldn't be proper for you to be bunked with someone on a team if that happened, right?” Amanda suggested. Ursula paused.

“Well, I suppose not.” She agreed.

“Right, so I was thinking, to avoid that being a concern. And, y'know, so people don't think we're so bad off we can't give our coach a room.” Amanda continued. “That I'd bunk with Cons and Jasminka, sleep on a couch or something, and you could have a room to yourself.”

“I don't know if I could do that.” Ursula replied. She looked between Akko and Diana cautiously. Akko smiled.

“I don't mind!” She declared.

“Neither do I.” Diana said. “I'll bunk with Akko on the trip.” Ursula hesitated a moment longer, before nodding.

“Alright. Thank you girls. Now, go get something to eat. You must be starving.” Ursula said. Barbara nodded. She was starving.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

The week passed quickly. They spent most of it practicing hard. They slowed down a bit on the 14th, since it was Valentine's Day. No one had plans, but there was a sense they should be relaxing, and Ursula was willing to go easy on them. It was a good day, apart from Amanda being particularly obnoxious. She made several lewd implications at Diana, and occasionally would give Akko a “gentle” nudge to send her stumbling into Diana. Diana simply didn't respond. That night she stewed on her previous thoughts of Akko, but she once again pushed them away. Akko had seemed incredibly uncomfortable with Amanda's actions, which told Diana that her initial impression that Akko was straight was correct.

Finally, the night before they were supposed to leave, Diana found herself alone in her room. It was a time she'd been waiting for all week. Outside her window, it was raining hard. Apparently it was going to be raining all day tomorrow. Diana got up, and gently closed her door. She was about to do something incredibly impolite, and she didn't want to inconvenience the girls. She locked the door, and moved over to her window. She opened it a crack, and the cold air blew in suddenly. It chilled Diana to the bone. Perfect.

Diana pulled out a jacket, and threw it on, before adding a scarf. That helped, a lot. She settled down in front of her computer, and opened steam. She scrolled through her games, until she settled on the newest one in her collection. Heart of the Woods. It was a VN that had just come out today. Diana wasn't sure how she'd stumbled upon it, but when she'd read about it, she knew she wanted it. It was a VN about a girl and a ghost falling in love. It sounded incredibly gay. From all the screenshots Diana had seen, it took place almost entirely in the snow, so to help with her immersion, she'd decided to make her room just as cold.

The opening screen was beautiful, and the music set the tone perfectly. It was slow, and sad, but in the way that was comfortable. Diana simply sat for a minute, listening to the music, and letting her eyes wander between the two girls on the cover. Her gaze drifted to the title, and the small “18+ version” listed underneath. Diana wasn't one for VNs usually, but she knew enough to know it was the done thing to obtain the adult patch. Who was she to break tradition.

Finally, she'd had enough of the title music. She hit start game, and worked through the few prompts, before finally the game started. It opened with the sound of a train, rumbling on tracks.

_A Winter Wonderland_ the first line read. Diana continued on, until the music kicked in, and the first image appeared. She'd made the right choice opening the window. That much at least was clear.

 

**\---AMANDA---**

 

Amanda's gaydar was impeccable. She didn't commit to a judgement on every girl, but when she did, she was never wrong. The first week at Luna Nova, she'd concluded Diana was gay. She quickly decided that Barbara was bi, and Hannah was straight. Ursula had suddenly crept up on her as gay one day. Jasminka and Constanze probably didn't realise other people existed. Lotte did her best to hide it, but she was also pretty gay, by Amanda's reckoning. Sucy...was odd. And Akko had simply been too oblivious to work out.

But once Amanda knew, she saw an opportunity. Diana wasn't aware of it, but her eyes had a bad habit of lingering on Akko for a second longer than they needed to. She definitely was into Akko in some way. And since Akko could be into her too, Amanda saw no reason not to give them a nudge. A very literal nudge, as she went out of her way to “accidentally” bump Akko hard enough to send her sprawling into Diana.

The way they both blushed slightly, and pulled away like they didn't enjoy the contact was hilarious. Amanda wasn't too sure why she was pushing this. Akko probably deserved better than the prissy bitch. But, they were so very different, if they did end up together...Oh, Akko would drive Diana up the wall. That alone made it worth it.

A chill wind picked up, lashing rain into the bus stop, snapping Amanda out of her thoughts. It sucked they had to travel today. It had been raining all last night, and all day so far. Apparently it was snowing up north. They'd be travelling through it at some point. Amanda sipped coffee from her Thermos, and looked around. The rest of the team was out her, just as rugged up and grumpy looking as she was. Diana looked particularly miserable, like she hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before. Their bags all sat at their feet, slowly soaking up the water from the ground. Only Akko and Ursula seemed to be in good spirits, as they chatted away up front, talking about the tournament.

Akko was picking Ursula's brains about the tournament, while Ursula was largely dodging her questions. Amanda didn't blame her, Akko was getting pretty invasive with some of them. Finally, they were interrupted as the bus pulled up. It took a minute to get everyone's bags loaded up, and then they shuffled on. They were the only people on the bus, and so they spread out. Amanda, naturally, sat up the back, with Constanze and Jasminka. Constanze immediately pulled her laptop out, and got back to work on coding Stanbot. The red team settled near the middle, with Akko sitting beside Ursula to continue to pick her brain, while the blue team sat right up front. Prissy bitches.

“This sucks.” Amanda complained. Despite the heating on the bus, it was still cold. It wasn't going to get better on the way there either.

“It's not that bad.” Jasminka replied through a mouthful of food. Amanda was pretty impressed Jasminka already had something out of her bag. She'd watched her pack. At least half of her bag was dedicated to food. Amanda had jokingly asked if she had enough. Jasminka explained she was going to be picking up more for the return trip, so it was okay.

“We're gonna be cramped into trains for six hours, while it's freezing cold, with nothing to do.” Amanda retorted.

“I was going to spend the time eating.” Jasminka replied.

“Alright. I'll have nothing to do.” Amanda corrected.

“Why not go talk to someone?” Jasminka suggested. Amanda chewed her lip, thinking about it. She wasn't going to talk to the blue team. She could see Barbara and Hannah were chatting, while Diana leant on the window. The red team was equally busy. Sucy and Lotte were both reading, while Akko continued chatting to Ursula. Perhaps she could go save their coach.

“Yeah alright.” She grumbled, climbing to her feet and heading down to sit behind Akko.

“So did you play at Edinburgh?” Akko was asking.

“Not really. I was on the support team at Luna Nova.” Ursula replied. “But I did go to Edinburgh. The whole team went, and I was supporting one of the other teams.”

“What did you do to support them?” Akko asked, eyes lit up with excitement. “Did you support Chariot's team?”

“Uh, no, she was being supported by someone else. I didn't really see much of her.” Ursula answered. “But I was watching the games that my team would be playing next if they won, and taking notes on what to prepare for, or how to do picks and bans.”

“Is anyone doing that for us?” Amanda asked. Ursula sighed.

“No. I'll see what I can do, but early on the games go too fast for me to watch all of them. I'm sorry.” Ursula answered. Amanda shrugged.

“It's all good. I'll just get Akko to watch for me when she drops out in the first round.” Amanda teased.

“Hey!” Akko protested. “You're the ones going to be knocked out!” Amanda laughed softly.

“We'll see, huh?” She replied. “Hey, so I was thinking, I noticed you and Diana have been getting close lately. What's going on there?” Ursula cleared her throat.

“I'm going to go see how the blue team is doing.” She announced, sliding out of the seat and walking to the front of the bus. Akko turned on Amanda.

“What's been going on is you keep shoving me into her!” Akko hissed. Amanda flashed her a grin.

“Yeah, but you get so cute and flustered when I do it.” Amanda replied. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “You don't have a crush on her do you?”

“No!” Akko hissed a little louder. “No way! She's so...frustrating.”

“Then why do you blush?” Amanda pushed.

“Because...she's kinda cute.” Akko answered. “But there's no way I'd ever be interested in her! She's so stuck up, and thinks she knows better than everyone.” Amanda nodded along.

“So...hate fuck?” She suggested, with a mischievous grin. Akko paused. It was clearly taking her a second to process the suggestion. Then she shook her head emphatically.

“No way! She's not even gay!” She replied.

“Oh. She is.” Amanda said. She leaned over and whispered into Akko's ear. “Super gay. She'd eat you alive.” She pulled back, to see Akko had turned bright red. “Anyway, good talking, I should go chat with my team again.” And with that, Amanda got up, and headed back to the back of the bus. She settled in her seat, and looked back to see Akko was still blushing furiously. She looked away from Amanda with a dramatic huff, before resting her cheek on the window. Probably trying to cool the blush. Amanda laughed to herself. She was so glad she'd nudged Ursula into taking the solo room, so they'd have to be roomed together. Akko had probably forgotten in 6 hours she'd be sharing a room with Diana. Which just made the prank all the sweeter.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My chapters aren't getting shorter, you're just getting more impatient, I swear. By which I mean the next chapter is also a bit on the short side. But like this one, it ended on the perfect moment to lead into the next one. Which is the goal, right?
> 
> Anyway, new terms:
> 
> Bonjwa - Korean slang to refer to any player who is dominant in the scene for a long period of time. In SC1 there's been...five? Bonjwas? It's hard to define when one is and is not a Bonjwa but my research suggests there was five. The most famous is, of course, Flash (who gets a nod in this chapter). In SC2 there was MVP who some contest as a Bonjwa and in my personal opinion Maru is on the way to being a current Bonjwa.
> 
> I guess that was also a history/culture lesson. You're welcome! In Magical Burst terms it would be used to describe the key player of a team who creates their success. As such, they'd be a lot rarer.
> 
> P.S. One more no games chapter after this so no hero profile yet. I will be preparing a bunch to drop for the next chapter since the games will begin, and I want to broaden my options a bit before I start writing it.

**\---URSULA---**

 

Ursula was, in all honesty, grateful for Amanda coming over. She was even glad she'd started being inappropriate, and given her an excuse to leave. Lying to Akko was exhausting. She didn't want to let her down and not answer her questions about her hero, but at the same time, she didn't want Akko working out the truth. Keeping her story straight however was a potential issue. The solution she'd stumbled upon was to just recount most of what an old friend had told her. So long as she pretended she had been the one doing that, she should be okay. So long as they never ran into that friend, everything would be fine. Holbrooke was on board with Ursula's decision, and none of the other coaches had been with Luna Nova at the time.

Ursula pushed her concerns aside as she settled in behind the blue team. Being this close now, she realised Diana was actually asleep, as she leant against the window. She managed to look dignified enough in sleep that it didn't even occur to her as a possibility when she'd looked over at first.

“How long has she been asleep?” Ursula asked softly. Hannah and Barbara stopped talking, and looked over.

“Since we got on the bus.” Hannah answered.

“She was up late last night.” Barbara added.

“That doesn't sound like Diana...” Ursula remarked. The girls nodded.

“That's what I said.” Barbara agreed.

“I definitely heard her chair squeaking.” Hannah insisted.

“I'm not doubting you!” Barbara replied. “It's just strange for her to be up late.”

“Do you know what she was doing?” Ursula asked. They shook their heads in response.

“Her room was ice cold in the morning though.” Hannah offered. Ursula nodded a little bit.

“Well, that's interesting. I suppose I'll ask her later.” She said, leaning back in her chair. The girls nodded once more, and returned to their hushed conversation. Ursula let her mind wander, back to the time she'd played at Edinburgh. It had been her first event, and it was still her favourite. She hadn't yet made a name for herself, so she'd just been in the same plain old uniform the rest of her team wore. Not that she minded. She didn't even expect to get far in the tournament. It wasn't important. All that mattered was she was there, having fun. And it had been very fun.

But she hadn't gotten knocked out early. Her team made it to the finals. And in the finals, in the final match, down both of her allies, she'd 1v3ed the enemy team, and won. That single moment had turned the whole game around. When she left the booth as the MVP of the winning team, her entire life turned around. She'd gone from a nobody on a B-team, to the superstar of Luna Nova. It had been almost too much. She almost quit then and there.

And then, listening to the post-game commentary, she heard someone drop one word. One word that changed her mind. “Bonjwa”. They weren't saying she was, of course, she was no where near that level. But they said it was a possibility. They said her performance was akin to the early days of Flash. And that was it. That was her new goal. She would be the next Bonjwa. She'd made it too. For her last season, they were calling her the Luna Nova Bonjwa. There was speculation just how long she'd stay there. And then everything had gone wrong.

 

Ursula jolted out of her thoughts at the sound of Akko's voice.

“Coach Ursula? We're here?” She said. Ursula took a moment to look around. Sure enough, the bus was stopped at the station. Everyone else had climbed off the bus already.

“Oh, of course, sorry. I must've drifted off.” Ursula lied. She climbed to her feet, and stepped off the bus. Thankfully, it was parked under an awning, so they weren't getting wet. The bags were also already unloaded, so Ursula turned back and thanked the bus driver, before picking up her bag and leading the girls to the station proper. They only had a short wait, before their train arrived, and they boarded.

This time everyone was sitting a bit closer. The blue team had still moved a short distance away, and Ursula noticed Diana yawn once, before settling in to lean on the window again. Ursula sat at the end of the group, to keep her eyes on all of them. Akko sat with the green team this time, while Lotte and Sucy took a pair of seats at the far end, and started reading again. The others had fallen back into their conversations. Once she was sure they were all settled in, Ursula decided to let her mind wander a little longer. Some days she missed the old times, and now that she was going back to Edinburgh, today was one of those days.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Diana was definitely not interested in Akko. Of that, Akko was certain. There's no way she'd be interested. After all, she was gorgeous. That wasn't Akko being attracted to her though. It was an objective fact. Diana was one of the most beautiful people that Akko had seen. But she wasn't really attracted to her. Not any more than any one would be when confronted with a very beautiful person. Which was a bit, but not to any intense degree. Not enough to want to kiss her. Definitely not enough to want to hate fuck her. Not that she'd want to hate fuck anyone, but she super wouldn't want to hate fuck Diana.

Akko, by contrast, was fairly plain. Which is why she was so certain Diana wasn't interested. Even if she was gay, which Akko still doubted, she'd probably want a girl who looked at least half as good as her. She'd also probably want someone as stuck up as her. Anyone less might embarrass her after all. They might do something stupid, like build full AD, or one-trick on a hero who hadn't been in rotation for 8 years. Akko played too much Magical Burst. She couldn't actually think of an example outside of the game.

The point of the entire chain of thought was that they could never get together. And if they could, Akko still didn't want to. Even though Diana was very pretty, and very good at Magical Burst. But that was the only thing they had in common. Which is why they'd never work out, even if Akko did want to be with her. Which she didn't!

“Hey, earth to Akko.” Amanda called. Akko zoned back into reality.

“Huh?”

“I was asking you if you'd played anything else good this week.” Amanda said.

“Oh, not really. I did some more monobattles but that was it.”

“Damn, I was hoping for some more recommendations. Huniepop was good by the way.” Akko blushed and shushed at Amanda.

“Amanda!” She snapped. Amanda chuckled.

“Sorry, sorry.” She said, waving her hand dismissively. “So what are you looking forward to at Edinburgh?”

“Um, the tournament?” Akko replied uncertainly. What else was there?

“Really? I'm excited for the parties personally.” Amanda replied. Akko blinked.

“Wait, what parties?”

“You know, the parties after each big round. All the teams get invited to most of them, and then a bunch of people just at the LAN go too.”

“What's a LAN?” Akko asked.

“Oh my god, are you serious?” Amanda asked. Akko nodded slowly. “A LAN party is like, a ton of people getting together to play games together. And Edinburgh is one of the bigger ones. So like, on top of the tournament there's a bunch of other shit going on, booths for games that aren't out yet, and big events for games with big lobbies, that sort of thing.”

“That sounds amazing!” Akko exclaimed, a big grin on her face. “I've gotta do all of it!” Amanda laughed.

“Yeah well, maybe when you lose to us early you'll get the time.” She teased.

“You wish.” Akko retorted. The conversation quickly devolved into a back and forth argument over who was going to win the tournament. Despite insisting it would be them, Akko wasn't actually sure how they'd do. All she wanted was to do better than Diana. The blue team. She meant she wanted to do better than the blue team.

 

**\---HANNAH---**

 

The train ride was fairly boring. Diana slept through most of it, only waking up as they were closing in on London. Hannah and Barbara had chatted idly about their plans, but there wasn't really a lot to talk about. Hannah had considered sleeping, but she wasn't tired enough yet, and she knew she would appreciate the sleep on the next leg. It was going to be miserable otherwise. The train pulled into the station, and they all shuffled off.

“How long do we have?” Diana asked as they gathered on the platform.

“About half an hour.” Ursula replied. “The train is already waiting though, so we can board whenever. But we should go and get dinner first.”

“What are we getting?” Akko asked. Ursula paused.

“I didn't really plan anything.” She admitted. “But it should be something quick. I know there's a place for chips nearby at least.”

“That sounds good.” Hannah declared, smiling. Since the last conversation about how to eat chips, she'd been waiting for a chance to correct everyone. The argument over condiments had been stupid, since none of them were the best way to eat chips. “Why don't we split up, some of us can go get a few large chips, some others can get drinks, and I'll run and get condiments?” She suggested. Ursula thought for a moment, before nodding.

“That seems a good plan.” She replied.

“Perhaps you should wait by the train with our bags coach Ursula?” Diana suggested. Ursula nodded.

“That's probably a good idea.” She agreed.

“Can you take my bag over?” Hannah asked Barbara softly. “I need to go find a place to get what we need.” Barbara nodded.

“Of course. I'll text you what platform number.” She replied.

“Thanks!” Hannah said. She handed her bag over to Barbara, then headed off at a sprint. She dashed out of the station, and did a quick loop around the block. As expected, she found a small convenience store with what she needed. She grabbed two loafs of bread, and then basically every condiment she could see. Tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, vinegar. Anything that worked. As she checked out, she checked the time. She had 20 minutes to get back there. She should be fine if she didn't rush. So she made a leisurely stroll back to the train station, and arrived with 5 minutes to spare. As Hannah's eyes settled on the train, she crinkled her nose at it. It was worse than she'd feared.

It was old. Very old. The windows didn't even look properly sealed. Ursula leaned out of a door, waving her over. Hannah made her way over and stepped inside. The inside was quaint, in a way. They were standing in a small landing area, with the main cabin to their left. Near them were four booths, capable of holding 6 people. Beyond them were two long benches, facing each other, clearly intended to provide standing area for a long forgotten day when this train was busy. The air was cold, and Hannah realised there was no heating.

“This is going to be hell.” She whined softly, as she settled into the chair beside Barbara. Diana stood up to let her in, before taking the outside seat.

“It gets worse.” Barbara told her as she sat. She was right. The seats were wooden, with only a thin cushion to offset it.

“Oh no.” Hannah whined. Across from her was sitting Akko and Amanda, and on the table between them was a big box of chips.

“So what did you get? Something good I hope.” Amanda asked. Hannah scowled at her.

“Only the best thing you've had with chips.” She replied, as she placed the bag on the table. Amanda cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Bread? What, are we making a chip sandwich?” She teased.

“It's called a chip butty.” Hannah corrected her. “Just try it you uncultured yank.” Amanda snorted.

“Fine, you first.” She demanded. Hannah shrugged, and pulled out a piece of bread. She took a moment to line the chips along half of it, before smothering them in sauce, and folding it over. She locked eyes with Amanda a took a bite.

“Happy?” She asked. Amanda gave her a level stare for a moment, before snorting again.

“Yeah. Give me some bread, let me try this shit.” Amanda requested. Hannah pulled out a slice, and handed it over, before offering it to the others.

“This is absurd.” Diana commented. Despite her criticism she took a piece of bread, and followed suit, putting vinegar onto the chips and taking a hesitant bite.

“This is good.” Barbara remarked.

“Yeah, maybe you brits aren't so bad.” Amanda teased. Hannah glared at her.

“Why are you even sitting here?” She snapped.

“Well, Cons is busy, Jasminka is pretty quiet, and Sucy and Lotte are reading.” Amanda replied. “So we figured we'd sit with the only people who are talking.”

“Oh, I'm sure you'd love to talk with us.” Hannah replied, glancing at Barbara, who nodded along.

“We were talking about how terrible one tricks are for the game earlier.” Barbara added. Akko froze. Good, maybe they'd leave them alone.

“Good thing there's no one tricks here then.” Amanda replied, with a cocky grin. Barbara and Hannah laughed.

“Are you going to deny that Akko only picks Moonlit Witch now?” Barbara asked.

“I knew you were stupid, but that's something else!” Hannah agreed. Amanda shrugged.

“Nah, she only picks Moonlit Witch. She's just got 8 different Moonlit Witches to pick from. How many heroes are you picking right now? 6? 7? Sounds like Akko's got a bigger hero pool than you.” Amanda replied. Barbara and Hannah stopped laughing, and instead scowled.

“You're just arguing semantics.” Hannah snapped. “Twisting the definition for a stupid gotcha moment.” Barbara nodded.

“Everyone knows no matter how versatile the hero, if it's all you pick, you're just a one-trick.” She agreed. “After all, Shiny Chariot had an even more versatile style, and she was just a one-trick.”

“She was not!” Akko snapped.

“She was too!” Hannah replied.

“Nu-uh!” Akko argued. Diana sighed loudly.

“Stop fighting.” She declared. “Akko, Chariot was a one-trick. However, she was versatile enough that it didn't matter. Now, I'm going to go and get some peace. Excuse me.” Diana took two pieces of bread with chips, and stood up, heading out to the open area, where she sat against the window. Hannah sighed.

“Let's just talk about something else.” She suggested.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Chip buttys were delicious. That was the most important take away from spending time with Barbara and Hannah. The second most important take away was that they weren't SO bad once you talked to them for a while. Sure, they took jabs at her often, but Amanda jabbed back just as frequently, and eventually they dropped it entirely. Once they'd settled down, Akko found herself learning a lot. They both really liked Magical Burst, and listening to them talk about heroes, or strategies, Akko was constantly introduced to new ideas.

“But why does that matter?” Amanda asked. Hannah scoffed.

“Why does it matter? Because it puts your whole team up almost 500 gold!” She replied. Amanda shrugged.

“So what? You can't buy much with 150 gold.” Amanda said. They were talking about securing early towers. Hannah sighed.

“Alright, what about getting a kill? Is that worth it?” She asked. Amanda nodded. “Why?”

“Because, you get 300 gold for the kill, plus another 150 for assists. And the enemy can't farm while they're dead.” Amanda explained.

“But that's the same amount of gold for a tower.” Hannah argued. “So why aren't towers as good as kills?”

“Because they don't deny the enemy a chance to farm.” Amanda elaborated.

“But they do!” Barbara exclaimed. “They open up a chunk of the map to you, and make it more dangerous for the enemy.”

“Plus, with that 150 gold, you could each buy two flash powders, and make a big 3-man gank. Maybe even get an ace with it.” Hannah picked up the argument. “Without losing any tempo from your creep farming.” Amanda frowned.

“I guess.” She conceded. “But if towers are so good, why did Akko's plan against you fail?” Hannah sighed loudly.

“Because they spent too much on it! They weren't farming a lane, so the gold they gained from the towers wasn't enough to make up the difference.” Hannah explained. “And even then, they were close!”

“We were?” Akko asked. Hannah paused.

“No.” Barbara replied. “Maybe if we were against a good team it would have been close though.” Akko frowned a little, but couldn't really argue. They'd been beaten every other time they'd tried to cheese like that. Maybe they really weren't as good.

“Well, whatever.” Amanda said finally. “Not like it matters anymore. I'm gonna get some sleep.”

“How can you sleep here? It's so uncomfortable.” Hannah asked. Amanda shrugged.

“Skill.” She replied, with a self-satisfied smile. She folder her arms, and snuggled down into her spot. Hannah sighed.

“I'll try and sleep too.” She announced.

“Same.” Barbara agreed. Akko paused. She didn't want to sleep yet. Maybe she could go chat with the other group. She looked over. They were also all asleep. She sighed. Maybe she'd just go sleep. There was no one to talk to. Except maybe…she glanced over her shoulder. Diana was sitting out in the middle of the central area, with earbuds in, staring out the window at the rain that was pelting down. She could go talk with Diana. It's not like it could be worse than talking with Barbara and Hannah. Akko glanced around at the others. They'd all settled in and closed their eyes.

She quietly slipped out of the booth, and crept towards Diana. She didn't want to disturb the others. And she couldn't really announce her presence to Diana with earbuds in. Akko stopped beside Diana, and placed her hands behind her back, trying to work out how to announce herself. She couldn't just sit down next to Diana. That would probably terrify her. She studied Diana carefully as she tried to work it out.

She looked really pretty when she was relaxed like this. The usual passive, kind of bitchy, expression she wore was replaced with a soft smile. Even rugged up like she was, with a big jacket, and scarf around her neck she managed to look elegant. Akko by contrast, looked like a potato in her parka. Akko took a deep breath. She couldn't just stand here being jealous of how good Diana looked. So she reached out, and gently tapped her arm. Diana turned to look at her, and Akko smiled, waving a little.

“Hey! Whatcha listening to?”

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Staying up to finish Heart of the Woods had been a mistake. Apart from leaving her dead tired the next day, Diana also found her thoughts drifting back to it again and again. It was a good story, and the fact it was over left Diana with an empty, aching feeling in her heart. She knew it would pass soon, as the ache of a good story always did, but for the moment, she relished it. She also found herself longing for the atmosphere it had created. It was fleeting, she knew, and soon it would be gone. But today, on this old, cold train, it was perfect. It was just like the beginning of the story, and it was everything Diana could've wanted. As she stared out the window, with the rain beating down, and the promise of snow to come, she felt like she was in the only place on earth. Like the train would carry on forever.

The other reason it had been a mistake was the fact the game had two sex scenes. Despite herself, memories of them crept up unbidden often too. She tried her best to chase them away, but they were insistent. By this stage she'd simply accepted they would come to her, and she did her best not to blush. Thankfully, she was sitting alone, so it didn't make things awkward.

“Hey! Whatcha listening to?” A voice pierced Diana's solitude, and a gentle hand tapped her sleeve. Diana turned to look at the intruded. It was Akko, smiling and waving. Who else would it be? Diana smiled back, and pulled out one earbud. She wasn't sacrificing the ambience for a conversation.

“Into Another World.” She answered. “Would you like to listen?” Akko's face lit up, and she nodded.

“I've never heard of that song before. Who's it by?” She asked, as she sat down. Diana glanced down at her phone.

“Sarah Mancuso” She replied.

“Never heard of her either.” Akko said. Diana offered her the earbud, and Akko slipped it in. She closed her eyes for a moment. “This is really eerie.” She said finally. Diana laughed softly.

“It's ambient music.” She explained. “From the soundtrack of a game I played last night. It's...a bit like a fairy tale, and this is the first song.” Akko nodded.

“It fits!” She replied. “What was the game?” Diana hesitated, and looked away.

“Heart of the Woods.” She answered.

“What kind of game is it?” Akko pushed. That was the question Diana didn't want to hear.

“A VN.” She admitted softly. Akko's face lit up.

“No way! You play VNs too?” She asked. Diana nodded.

“Occasionally. When one catches my eye. I don't play too many, otherwise I fear the magic would be ruined.”

“Oh, that's cool I guess.” Akko replied. “I play a ton of them! They're great!”

“Do you read much outside of VNs?” Diana asked, a small smile playing on her lips. Akko frowned slightly.

“No.” She admitted. Diana chuckled softly.

“That might explain it.” She teased. Akko looked at her for a second, before nodding.

“Yeah. So what was it about?” Akko asked. Diana hesitated. She really, really didn't want to answer that question.

“It was...a romance story.” She started off slowly. “About a girl, and a ghost. It was very sweet.”

“How does that work?” Akko pushed. Diana sighed.

“Okay. So the girl is a professional ghost hunter with her best friend. And they go to a small town in the middle of no where because another girl asked them to come and investigate something.” Diana began explaining. Akko raised a hand, and Diana paused. “Yes?”

“Is the best friend also a girl?” She asked. Diana nodded. “Is it gay?” Diana took a deep breath, and let out a long sigh.

“Yes Akko. It's gay.” She said finally.

“Cool.” Akko replied, picking up her phone. “Heart of the Woods, right?” She asked, as she opened a notepad file. Diana cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Are you…?” She asked slowly.

“Am I?” Akko asked back uncertainly. Diana hesitated.

“Are you into, you know, VNs like that?” She said finally. Akko nodded.

“Yeah, it's cute, y'know? Anime boys all look weird.” She explained. Diana nodded. They really did look weird. Either aggressively manly, or girls without the best features. The conversation fell into a lull. Akko turned to look out the window. Then she gasped.

“What is it?” Diana asked, turning to look the same way. The rain had stopped, and in it's place was snow. The ground was coated in white, and Diana let a small gasp slip out as well. It was beautiful.

“This is so cool.” Akko said softly.

“Snow usually is, yes.” Diana replied. Akko paused.

“Wait, did you just make a joke?” She asked.

“I believe I did.” Diana replied, turning back to sit normally. “What of it?”

“Nothing.” Akko replied. “I just...I dunno. Didn't expect it? You seem...different, tonight.”

“Perhaps you've just caught me in a good mood.” Diana suggested. It was true. She was feeling better tonight than she had in months. Akko yawned.

“It's nice.” She said. “I like this you more.” Diana smiled a little.

“You should sleep.” She said. Akko nodded. She seemed to have suddenly hit a wall. Probably the cold from the snow creeping into the carriage had done it. Akko settled into the chair beside her, and closed her eyes to sleep. It didn't take more than a few seconds for her to pass out, her head flopping onto Diana's shoulder. Diana sighed softly. She looked at the others. Only Barbara was awake, a Nightfall book open in front of her. They locked eyes.

“Gay.” Barbara mouthed at her, before smiling a little, and returning to her book. Diana smiled too, and glanced down at Akko, sleeping peacefully on her shoulder.

“I like this me more too.” She said softly, before turning back to looking out the window. It was a long journey, and she wasn't tired. Which suited her fine. She would relish every second she got to sit in this moment, with nothing in the world but this train, her friends, and Akko sleeping on her shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a lot of thinking, I've decided to put off doing hero profiles until the chapter before a match with them, and then I might post all 6 relevant ones, even if they've been posted before, to give everyone a refresher on what to expect.
> 
> And since age matters at this point and I've only vaguely referenced it before. They're 18 in this fic. I imagine they'll get older as the story progresses. Not sure how old Ursula is though, since they don't DAMN WELL DEFINE HER AGE OFFICIALLY. She's probably like...29-31. Somewhere in there.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy! I've given up any pretense of changing names of major figures at this point. I'm just gonna steal SC2 personalities and there's nothing anyone can do to stop me!
> 
> And since I reference this indirectly, some HISTORY for you all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K_MQFzH82I
> 
> Hope you all enjoy! Feedback is loved as always!

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko woke up with her head on Diana's shoulder. She didn't remember falling asleep on Diana, but she must've done. Normally she'd be embarrassed, but she was too tired to care right now. She just wanted to go back to sleep. By the looks of things, so did everyone else. Somehow, Ursula was awake enough to guide them to the bus that took them to the hotel. The hotel was nice, as far as Akko could tell through the haze of sleepiness. Ursula checked them in, and handed out key cards, before shuffling them towards the elevators. They rode them to their floor, Akko wasn't sure which, and navigated the confusing hallways until they reached their rooms. Diana unlocked the door for them, and Akko stumbled in. She stripped out of her jacket and pants, before collapsing onto her bed, passing out instantly.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Diana found herself with a problem. An Akko-sized problem that was laying across the only bed in the room. When they'd been told they were sharing rooms, Diana had assumed it would be two beds. Assuming had been a mistake. Now she found herself staring at her bed, where Akko had collapsed half naked. She was too gay for this. She took a deep breath. She'd just have to deal with it.

“Akko.” Diana hissed. Akko groaned in response. This was going to be tough.

“Akko!” Diana repeated, raising her voice a bit. She could feel her usual, harsh tone creeping into it.

“Huh?” Akko asked softly. Diana smiled. Despite the frustration, she was cute when she was sleepy.

“You need to get in bed Akko. You'll catch a cold.” Diana lied. “Here, let me help you.” She walked around to Akko's side, and offered a hand. Akko took it, and sleepily crawled across the bed to the pillow she was led to. Diana took a moment to struggle with the blanket, managing to pull it out from under Akko, and threw it over her. The bed was ruined on this side. Normally, Diana would be upset, but she was too grateful to have the girl covered up to care today.

“Thank you.” Akko murmured sleepily. “Isswarm.” A smile crept across Diana's face.

“I'm going to go shower. You sleep well.” She said, as she turned and walked into the bathroom. Akko mumbled something in her sleep. Diana untangled herself from her warm clothes. Inside the hotel they were oppressively hot, and she was grateful to be free of them. Grateful, and a little sad. The temperature was horrible, but the train ride had come to an end, and this felt like the final admission it was over.

The trip had been heaven, and as Diana stepped into the shower, she let it replay in her head. She immediately got caught on the image of Barbara staring at her. She knew Diana was gay. So did Hannah, for that matter. But they were kind enough not to give her any stress over it. They were both in similar boats, Barbara being bi, and Hannah being, as she put it, “a bit bi”. They at least didn't have the same expectations placed upon them. They were both from lesser families, and they had brothers and sisters to carry on the line. Diana had her aunt for the same purpose, though that was...less than ideal. If Diana running off to play video games made her a disappointment, then her aunt was a disgrace to the name.

Diana leant against the wall, and let the water rush over her body. The best part of shared living like hotels and Luna Nova, was there was no fear of using all the hot water. She could stand in here for hours if she wanted. She closed her eyes, and let the night continue in her head. She recalled the feeling of Akko snoring on her shoulder. It was strangely comforting. Like it was natural. Maybe she should say something?

She shooed the thought away immediately. Akko wasn't gay. She was just an oblivious girl who enjoyed the aesthetic. After all, she seemed to be very distressed whenever Amanda had pushed her into Diana. Diana had pretended to be distressed, but the truth was the contact had been nice. So had the contact of Akko leaning on her shoulder. Akko was right outside, sleeping in the bed. Diana could just slide in next to her, and snuggle up close.

The next morning, she could say it was an accident. It was believable. They were sharing a bed after all. Diana couldn't help it if she rolled over and snuggled up to Akko in her sleep. Except she'd know the truth. She was taking advantage of this poor girl for her own selfish needs. Besides, Akko was half undressed. If her leg ended up somewhere inappropriate during the night, she'd never forgive herself. She wasn't going to force herself on a girl who was straight. No matter how attractive and tempting that girl was.

Diana sighed, and slid a hand down her body. In the state she was in now, she wouldn't make it through the night with her dignity if she didn't do something about it. Akko was in the other room though, so she'd just have to be extra quiet. Hopefully the sound of the shower would cover any of the noises she let slip.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko immediately realised her mistake when she woke up. The bed she'd thought was hers was actually a shared bed. And she had collapsed into it without pants on. She woke up to find Diana on the far side of the bed, curled up against the very edge. Akko had probably done something while she was sleepy to make Diana uncomfortable. Unlike Akko, Diana was wearing actual pyjamas. Akko slipped out of bed and quickly got dressed. She was less convinced that Amanda was right about Diana being gay. After all, she refused to even be near Akko while she slept.

Unless that was why Diana didn't want to go near her. She had admitted to playing a VN about gays last night. What if Diana actually found her attractive? What if she really would…

Akko cut the thought off before it could complete. No. She was not going there. She was not dealing with that. She picked up her phone. There was a message from Ursula informing her they were going to breakfast in half an hour. It'd arrived twenty minutes ago. Akko looked at Diana, still fast asleep. She should wake her up. Otherwise she'd miss breakfast. A horrible fate, really.

“Diana?” She said hesitantly. Diana groaned softly in response. Akko shuffled a bit closer. “Diana!” She shouted. Diana started awake, sitting up and looking around.

“What?” She asked, still half asleep. She looked around once more, before calming down a little bit. It was adorable. “What's going on Akko?”

“We're getting breakfast in ten minutes. I thought you'd want to know.” Akko explained. Diana nodded.

“Thank you.” She said. “I'll, go get dressed.” She announced, picking up her clothes, and shuffling into the bathroom. Akko tried not to read into that decision. She waited around until Diana came out, and the two of them headed downstairs to meet the team for breakfast. The hotel offered a continental breakfast, a new experience for Akko. She wandered between every plate, picking up a few pieces of each item.

“You're going to make yourself sick.” Sucy said from behind her.

“Huh? How?” Akko asked.

“Look at your food.” Sucy replied. Akko looked at her plate. She didn't get it.

“Sucy's just worried you've maybe picked up a little too much.” Lotte offered helpfully.

“Oh. But how will I know what to eat tomorrow?” Akko asked. Lotte sighed.

“Okay. Just be careful.” She replied. They headed back towards the table with the team.

“So how was your first night with Diana?” Sucy asked.

“I think she might hate me.” Akko replied.

“I can't imagine why.” Sucy muttered.

“Why do you think that Akko?” Lotte asked, raising her voice to talk over Sucy.

“She slept curled up in the far corner of the bed.” Akko answered. “I think I upset her because I collapsed onto the bed as soon as we got inside.”

“I'm sure she was just trying to give you space.” Lotte suggested.

“You do tend to take up a lot of bed.” Sucy added.

“Because I have a lot of bed to take up!” Akko replied, raising her voice a little. The team all looked over at her. She blushed.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Amanda asked loudly. Ursula shot her a glare.

“Amanda. Please watch your language while we're here. You're representing the team.” She said stiffly.

“Oh fuck sorry.” Amanda replied softly. Ursula just sighed, as Amanda grinned.

“Sucy was saying I take up a lot of the bed.” Akko explained as they sat down with the team. “And I was saying that's because we have big beds back at Luna Nova.”

“Well, why don't we ask the new expert?” Amanda suggested, looking down the team at Diana, who was sitting on the very edge of the table. “Cavendish! Does Akko take up much of the bed?”

“I wouldn't know.” Diana replied. “I spent all night on my side. I didn't feel her, but that doesn't mean anything. I like to sleep curled up.”

“Oh...so it's not something I did?” Akko asked.

“I don't know why you would think it was.” Diana said curtly. She seemed colder than last night, which was funny, because it was much warmer here.

“Okay, cool, I guess.” Akko replied awkwardly.

 

Edinburgh was boring, Akko concluded. There was a lot of history to go look at, but none of it mattered to Akko. She had no interest in history back home, and even less interest in history on the other side of the world. She just wanted to get to the tournament already. Unfortunately, they had a whole day to kill. Lotte had wanted to go look around, which had killed the morning at least, but it was now mid-afternoon, and they were out of ideas. So they found themselves sitting in a McDonald's with Akko idly picking at the fries that remained in front of her.

“There's nothing to do!” Akko whined.

“This is the seventh time you've said that.” Sucy remarked.

“Well it's still true!” Akko retorted.

“Maybe you could message someone?” Lotte suggested. “Amanda might have an idea.” Akko perked up at that suggestion.

“Oh, good thinking.” She grabbed her phone, and quickly typed out a message to Amanda.

 

_Akko 3:42_

 

_Hey :3_

 

_Whatcha doin?_

 

_Amanda 3:43_

 

_Chillin' you?_

 

_Akko 3:43_

 

_Bored :(_

 

_Got any ideas on what to do?_

 

_Amanda 3:44_

 

_I'm waiting for the bars to open. Should be doing dinner in like, an hour._

 

_Akko 3:44_

 

_Sounds boring_

 

_Amanda 3:44_

 

_Have you ever drunk before?_

 

_Akko 3:45_

 

_No? Why would I?_

 

_Amanda 3:45_

 

_That explains it ;)_

 

_Come drinking with me tonight_

 

_Get you ready for the after parties_

 

_I don't think Ursula will let us drink during the tournament anyway, so this is our only chance_

 

Akko chewed on her lip.

“Amanda is suggesting we go drinking.” Akko announced.

“I'm not sure that's a good idea.” Lotte remarked. “We're playing tomorrow.”

“We're playing tomorrow evening.” Sucy corrected her. “I'm in at least. This'll be fun.” Akko nodded.

“Yeah, you're right. It's not until tomorrow evening, it'll be fine.” Akko agreed. “We can go home early, it'll be fine.”

 

_Akko 3:46_

 

_Okay! We're in!_

 

_Amanda 3:46_

 

_Sick. Where do you wanna meet up?_

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Walking around Edinburgh had been delightful, in Diana's opinion. She didn't get much of a chance to come up this way before, and so she took the chance to soak in the sights and the history. There were several tours she wanted to do, but they didn't have the time for them, and so they'd settled for looking at the sights, and getting tours later. After a day looking around town, they'd gone out for a nice dinner, and then returned to their rooms to prepare for the tournament. They were in the second match tomorrow, so they wouldn't have any time to prepare in the morning.

Diana was a little surprised Akko wasn't back when it hit eight. But then again, she was out in a new country, it made sense she'd want to explore. She started to get a little worried when it hit nine. She shouldn't be worried. Akko was a grown woman, however barely, and she could look after herself. And then Diana remembered everything she'd ever heard Akko say, and she doubted that second part. By ten Diana was starting to actually get anxious. She considered texting her, but she thought better of it. There was a very real chance she'd annoy Akko, and drive her to stay out later. She wasn't even sure why she worried. They were hardly even friends. And Akko as a player was unorthodox. Realistically, if she got lost and didn't make her match, the team wouldn't lose out that much. They couldn't have much of a worse reputation these days anyway. But still, Diana worried. She did know why. She just refused to acknowledge it.

Finally, a little after half past ten, Akko stumbled into the room. The way she swayed as she walked, and the flushed look on her face immediately told Diana she'd been out drinking. Diana sighed. Of course she had been. What else would she do the night before her first important match? Expecting her to wait a night to go when she didn't have a match the next day was far too much, wasn't it?

“Akko, are you drunk?” Diana asked her as she walked into the room. Akko smiled.

“No.” She declared proudly. Diana cocked an eyebrow.

“Really?” She demanded. “How much have you had to drink?” Akko thought for a moment.

“Just three drinks.” She replied. Diana nodded. That wasn't so bad. It wasn't unsalvageable at least. And Akko didn't seem to be particularly drunk. Probably just tipsy, and not used to the way her head swam. Diana couldn't blame her. She'd found it strange the first time too.

“Alright, come here. You have a match tomorrow, and it's important you're looking after yourself for it.” Diana instructed. Akko nodded.

“Okay.” She agreed. She sounded sleepy. That was somewhat ideal. Diana just had to make sure she was hydrated first. Diana picked up the water she had on the table beside her, and handed the glass to Akko.

“Drink this. I'm going to get you another.” She instructed, before slipping past Akko and into the bathroom. She picked up the unused glass, and filled it with water. When she returned, Akko had drunk the first glass. Diana exchanged them, and Akko obediently started drinking the second one.

“Thank you.” Diana said softly. “Let's get you into bed after this.” Akko nodded, unable to speak for the moment while she drank. When she finished she set the glass down.

“I didn't bring pyjamas.” Akko said.

“That's okay, you can sleep in your shirt again.” Diana replied, a tiny blush creeping across her face that she hoped Akko wouldn't notice.

“Are you sure?” Akko asked as she started struggling to get her jacket off. Diana stepped forward to help her.

“Quite sure. It's no problem.” Diana lied.

“Oh, okay good.” Akko replied. “I was really worried this morning cause you were snuggled up away from me, and I thought I made you uncomfortable.”

“Why would that make me uncomfortable?” Diana asked. It hadn't. It had had the reverse effect. She was concerned she'd get too comfortable with Akko.

“Because you're gay, right?” Akko replied. Diana paused. Akko didn't seem to notice, as she started getting out of her pants. How on earth did she know that? Well, the VN might've tipped her off, but she hadn't asked. And there was no reason to assume. Especially not with how Akko felt about them.

“No, I'm not.” Diana lied, as she came back to her senses. She didn't need Akko getting uncomfortable right now. “Let's get you into bed.” She suggested, lifting the covers. Akko nodded, and climbed into bed.

“Okay.” She agreed. “It's a shame. You're really pretty.” Akko murmured sleepily, before yawning and snuggling into the covers to sleep. Diana just stared at her. What the fuck did that mean?

 

**\---HANNAH---**

 

Something was bothering Diana. Hannah wasn't sure what, but it was clear since they'd met up for breakfast that something was weighing heavily on her mind.

“Is everything okay Diana?” Hannah had asked softly over breakfast.

“Of course.” Diana had replied. She almost sounded believable. Everyone else would probably think she was her normal self. But Hannah knew better. From the look she shared with Barbara, she wasn't the only one. They ate breakfast in relative silence. The rest of the team was all rather subdued. Jasminka at least seemed to be her usual self, but the others all seemed to lack energy.

“What do you think their problem is?” Barbara asked softly.

“They went out drinking.” Diana answered. “I made Akko drink some water, but I don't know about the rest.” Hannah nodded. Of all of them, Akko did seem to be handling it the best. Lotte looked like death. So did Sucy, but that was par for the course. Hannah wasn't sure if Sucy ever looked healthy. Ursula sighed at this news.

“Girls, if you need to stay behind to sleep it off, let me know.” She said. “I'll be back to pick you up before your match.”

“I'd appreciate that.” Lotte said softly. Sucy nodded along, and Constanze raised her hand.

“No way!” Akko exclaimed. “I want to see the event!”

“Same.” Amanda replied. She didn't look great either. Hannah wasn't surprised she was pushing through though. From what she knew about Amanda, this kind of irresponsible bullshit was the norm for her. She'd probably pushed through worse hangovers before.

“Alright. So long as you can play today.” Ursula replied. “Akko, I want you to have a bottle of water in your hand all day. You need to keep yourself hydrated.”

“Why water?” Akko pouted. “Can't I carry around like, coke or something?”

“No.” Ursula replied. “You need to look after yourself while you're here. When the tournament is over, we'll have one more day here. We can go have a big dinner and go drinking together then.” Akko sighed, and nodded.

“Can we go drinking sooner if we don't have a match on?” Hannah asked.

“So long as you're responsible, yes. I understand the excitement of being at an event for the first time.” Ursula replied. “I won't take that away from you unless I absolutely have to.”

“Oh good, we were thinking of going to a pub tonight.” Barbara explained.

“Since we don't have a match tomorrow.” Hannah added.

“We might've invited the red team too. But I don't think letting them drink two nights in a row is a good idea.” Barbara said. That was a lie. They never would have invited them. They weren't as bad as they had been, but they still weren't friends by any means. Even if Akko was sleeping on Diana's shoulder. Hannah couldn't wait until they were back in England, so she could tease Diana about that. She'd wanted to as soon as Barbara told her about it, but after some discussion they agreed to wait until after the tournament. Just in case it threw Diana off.

“We wouldn't want to go anyway.” Akko replied, sticking her tongue out at them. Hannah rolled her eyes. They had to be saddled with this child, didn't they?

 

After breakfast, everyone going to the event got on a bus, and headed out to the hall it was being held in. The car parks around the hall were massive, and teeming with people. There was a long line outside the event of people trying to get in. Ursula led them around the line, and to a side entrance where the VIPs could enter. Barbara nudged Hannah.

“Holy shit.” She whispered. “That's DayJ! And Tasteless!” Hannah looked over. Day[9] and Tasteless, two major figures of the Magical Burst community, were standing talking. Next to Tasteless was his commentating partner, Artosis.

“Weird that they're here.” Hannah said softly. “No one comes from out of the country for this.” The prize money for Edinburgh wasn't enough to justify most teams travelling this far. Especially not with how it was skewed. The majority of teams got very little. The cost to Luna Nova coming here might've been too much. Hannah was fairly certain that if it was just the prize money on the line, Luna Nova wouldn't have taken the risk. But Edinburgh was among the first events of the season, and so it provided them a good chance to pick up some sponsorship, which was the real goal here.

“I mean, there's nothing else on.” Barbara replied. “And they probably have everything paid for.” Hannah nodded.

“I guess.” She replied. As they talked, the crowd got thicker, and they lost track of the casters. Most of the people here Hannah didn't recognise. That was to be expected. England didn't have many popular teams. Scotland had like, one. Even so, she let her gaze wander slowly over the crowd, in case someone did stand out to her. Then she saw him.

Andrew Hanbridge. Captain of the Appleton Academy Magical Burst Team. He was speaking with Smix, the master of ceremonies at a lot of events like this. Hannah nudged Barbara.

“Barbara. It's Andrew Hanbridge.” She hissed. Barbara looked over at him.

“Oh my god!” She breathed. “He's actually here! Do you think we'll get to meet him?”

“I hope so.” Hannah replied. “Are we facing Appleton anywhere early on?”

“It would be the quarter finals.” Diana announced.

“You knew he'd be here?” Hannah asked. “And you didn't tell us?”

“I didn't think it was important.” Diana replied curtly. Hannah frowned. Diana was being oddly cold about him. Though, it stood to reason, she supposed. He was also the heir to a rather important family, and it wasn't uncommon for her to be questioned about any connection between them. A lot of people expected them to get married down the road. Hannah didn't blame them, if she didn't know Diana, she'd assume they'd make a perfect couple.

“Maybe we'll get lucky, and he'll lose sooner?” Barbara suggested tentatively.

“How would that be lucky?” Hannah asked. Barbara glared daggers at her. “Oh, right, yeah. Hopefully.”

“I doubt it.” Diana replied with a sigh. “I imagine he'll make it that far easily.”

“Well, he won't make it further.” Hannah declared. Diana smiled at them a little. Hannah smiled back.

“And then when we beat him, maybe we could go to dinner.” Barbara suggested very softly to Hannah. She nodded in agreement.

“Of course. It's only fair.” Hannah whispered back.

“Oh my god it's opening!” Akko exclaimed from ahead of them. The moment was ruined. Barbara and Hannah sighed.

“Dealing with her all day is going to suck.” Hannah muttered.

“Tell me about it.” Barbara agreed. Akko was right however, the doors were opening. They waited patiently, as the more important people shuffled inside. Once the crowd had thinned a little, they started moving forward, into the venue. Akko was bouncing in excitement as they advanced. Despite her usual disdain, Hannah couldn't fully blame her. She was excited too. She'd never been to an event like this before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so begins operation: "Let's see how long I can avoid writing Diana's perspective."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I was late! I've been accumulating stress-debt the past two weeks, and it finally came due this week, so I've been getting less time to work on this. But we're here! I intended to post this today anyway, but then I went ahead and powered out the end of the next chapter. So it's good, it's ready! 
> 
> Anyway, this chapter is something I've been dreading for a long time. The chapter I finally give the blue team some REAL GOD DAMN NAMES AND NOT JUST THEIR LAST NAMES. I hope they're not horrible!

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko gawked at the area in front of her. There was rows of computers set up, with little booths and comfy chairs around them. A few locations had raised, sealed booths for teams, like the ones that Luna Nova had. There was eight of them scattered around the area. In addition to the computers, there were a few lounging areas, and then a small cafeteria. At the far end was a big banner, pointing outwards into the main hall beyond. Akko couldn't make out the exact words, but it was clearly marking the area as being for VIPs.

“Woah.” Akko said softly.

“Tell me about it.” Amanda agreed.

“Really now, have you never been to a VIP area of a LAN before?” Hannah asked snarkily.

“I've never been to a LAN before.” Akko answered.

“You poor thing.” Barbara said. “I guess it's to be expected if you never played the game seriously before though. Did you even play anything else?”

“Yes!” Akko replied. She paused. Had she actually played anything else? Obviously she had, but did she do it often? Not really, no.

“Such as?” Hannah prompted. Akko hesitated. Sure, she'd played HuniePop the other day, but she couldn't just blurt that out.

“I saw her playing HuniePop the other day.” Amanda announced helpfully. “I had no idea Akko was that type of girl!” She raised her voice as she said this. Akko glared at her.

“Amanda!” She protested. Amanda grinned at her. Both Barbara and Hannah were giggling now.

“What's wrong Akko? You didn't seem to mind telling your whole friends list.” Amanda replied with a big smirk.

“Tell her whole friends list what?” Ursula asked. She'd been a short distance away, along with Diana, but since hearing Amanda shout, they'd come closer.

“Nothing!” Akko replied. Amanda opened her mouth to speak. Akko dived on her, placing a hand over her mouth and wrestling with her to keep her from speaking. “It's nothing, really!”

“It doesn't seem like nothing.” Ursula replied.

“Well it is!” Akko said quickly. Ursula looked over at Barbara and Hannah. They were both giggling. Akko dreaded them answering her. They glanced at each other, seemingly communicating something with each other. Akko had seen them share looks like that before, and she always found it weird. Now she found it downright scary. After a short exchange of facial expressions, they turned back to Ursula.

“It really is nothing.” Barbara said.

“Just Akko not watching what games she opens.” Hannah explained. Ursula paused for a moment.

“Oh, is this about...what Akko was playing after the Witches' Cup?” Ursula asked, a small blush crossing her face. Akko stared at her in horror.

“You knew?” She asked.

“Akko, you added me to your steam friends list the day you arrived at Luna Nova.” Ursula said softly. Akko's face turned bright red.

“I'm...just going to go die in a corner now.” She announced in a small voice.

“Before you do, please take your seat number.” Ursula said, holding out a piece of paper. Akko took it, and glanced down at it. She was in seat number 76. She'd find it later. Right now she needed to be anywhere else that wasn't near people who knew her shame.

“What was the game?” Akko heard Diana ask.

“You don't need to know!” Akko called over her shoulder. She really didn't want Diana knowing what she had been playing. Not after the awkward morning they'd had. As she stormed off to be alone, Akko took a moment to reflect on her horrible decision making last night.

She'd gone out drinking with her team and the green team, on Amanda's suggestion. It had been a fun night, but she probably shouldn't have had the last drink. It pushed her from happy buzz to tipsy and happy. At the time, that had been fine. But then she got back to her room. What she'd done in the room was a bit of a blur to her. She remembered Diana giving her some water to drink. She remembered having a conversation about sleeping. She wasn't sure what had been said in that conversation however. She might have forgotten the conversation entirely if not for Diana helping take her jacket off. It was only a jacket, but the thought of Diana helping her undress brought a blush to her cheeks that she did not approve of.

But whatever had been said, it had been something stupid on Akko's part. That was the only conclusion she could come to, because the next morning Diana had been distant. She'd barely been present when Akko tried to make conversation. She excused herself with being distracted by the tournament, but Akko didn't buy it. She was too distant. Akko had said something wrong. And she couldn't remember what. She could just ask, but she was scared that would make it all worse. So she just let Diana be distant.

It's not like it was a problem. She didn't care if Diana wanted to be distant. She didn't like her or anything. They'd just be awkward in their hotel room until they got back to Luna Nova, and then Akko could request to be in a room with Amanda forever. That was a perfect solution. Just an awkward week in her life. She could handle one awkward week. How hard could it possibly be?

 

**\---AMANDA---**

 

Amanda's head hurt. It wasn't terrible. She'd already taken some aspirin for it. She'd had worse. Beside her Jasminka was totally fine. She was lucky in that way. The two of them weaved through the aisles, until they found their spot. Amanda was in seat 79, and Jasminka had seat 80. Looking at the way the others settled in, it seemed they were arranged with the captain in the middle of each team. The red team was the central team, with the green team on the right, and the blue team thankfully to their left. That meant Amanda wouldn't have to deal with their bullshit.

She placed her laptop down on the desk, and started getting set up. The actual games would take place on computers set up in the booths, to prevent any form of cheating, or claims of hardware advantage. In between games however, they had to use their own computers. Amanda didn't mind. She was planning to take it easy today anyway. Play a little to keep herself warmed up, but not go too hard on it. It was too late to really practice anything new. They either had it, or they didn't. No use worrying over which it was.

“Excuse me? Miss Amanda O'Neil?” A soft voice asked. Amanda spun in her chair to look at who it was. At least the chairs here were incredible at least. She wasn't sure what the plebs got though. They probably weren't as lucky. She found herself face to face with a cute girl about her age, holding a clipboard. Amanda flashed her a charming grin.

“The one and only.” She replied. “What can I do for you miss…?” The girl smiled shyly.

“Sophie.” She answered. “And you can tell me what name you'll be playing under. We don't have tournament accounts set up for you yet.”

“Oh, sure thing.” Amanda replied, she stood up, and stepped close to Sophie to look over her shoulder at the clipboard. Thankfully, each page appeared to be for a separate account. This page had her information all over it. “I'll be playing under NoCause.”

“No Cause?” Sophie asked. “Any special punctuation?” She seemed a little tense with Amanda close.

“I capitalise the N and the C.” Amanda answered. “And there's no space.” Sophie nodded, as she wrote it in.

“Is that correct?” She asked, showing it to Amanda. Amanda nodded.

“You got it. Thanks babe.” Sophie blushed a tiny bit.

“Thank you for your time Miss O'Neil.” She said carefully.

“Oh no, it was my pleasure to meet you. Am I going to be seeing you again?” Amanda asked. Sophie nodded.

“I'll be calling teams for matches, so we'll cross paths a lot if you win.” Sophie replied. Amanda smirked.

“In that case, I'll be sure to try extra hard.” She replied, any subtlety in her flirting now abandoned. Sophie blushed.

“Well, I should be dealing with the others.” She turned her gaze on Jasminka. She very quickly got the name for her, and then moved on to the blue team. Akko still hadn't arrived it seemed.

“That went well.” Amanda remarked, as she flopped into her chair, grinning.

“You think so?” Jasminka asked. Amanda glanced over at her to see if she was being serious. It quickly became apparent she wasn't. Amanda laughed.

“Maybe not. I might be getting ahead of myself.” She replied, as she glanced back over at Sophie. She was pretty cute. Amanda was glad they'd met.

 

**\---BARBARA---**

 

“So what names are you all playing under?” Sophie asked them.

“DCavendish.” Diana answered immediately. Sophie went to write it, before pausing. She looked up at Diana.

“Are you certain?” She asked. “It's very hard to change your name later, and just your name isn't very...catchy.”

“I'm not concerned with being catchy.” Diana announced calmly. Barbara sighed, and shook her head a little.

“I think it might be a good idea to listen.” She suggested softly. “Otherwise it might reflect poorly on the team?” Diana paused, and then sighed.

“Very well. May I have a moment to think on it?” She asked.

“Of course. Do either of you have names planned?” Sophie asked, looking between Barbara and Hannah.

“Foru.” Barbara replied immediately. She'd thought about it a lot. She knew she wanted to make a Nightfall reference with her name, but it couldn't be too obvious. After reading far too much online, she'd settled on the Japanese pronunciation of Fall. Subtle, but present. And if asked, she could claim it was a nonsense name. Plenty of those existed.

“Favor.” Hannah announced, after a short pause. She looked quite satisfied with herself. Sophie nodded, writing them both down.

“Okay, Foru and Favor. And you Miss Cavendish?” She asked. Diana paused a moment longer, before sighing.

“There has been a Luna Nova tradition of placing witch in your name.” She began. “So I think I will go with White Witch. If that's acceptable.”

“White Witch. Got it.” Sophie announced. “Alright, that should be everything. You guys are up on the second set, so once we're started I'll run by with your log in information, and you can set up runes, hot keys, whatever you need.”

“Thank you very much.” Diana replied. Sophie smiled, and nodded, before heading off, presumably to get the paperwork done for other teams.

“So, why Foru?” Hannah asked as soon as she was gone. She was giving Barbara a slightly suspicious look. Barbara just shrugged.

“I think it sounds good.” She answered. “What about you Miss Favor?” Hannah smiled smugly.

“It's one of the meanings of my name.” She explained. “The other is Grace, which I considered for a bit. But when you said Foru I decided to match.” Barbara smiled. That was cute. She really liked it when players who laned together had matching names like that. Though it was occasionally awkward when they split up. Thankfully, that wasn't going to be a concern for them.

“Thanks.” Barbara replied. “So now what do we do?”

“We should probably make some plans for our map picks and bans.” Diana suggested. “We haven't really discussed it yet.”

“What's the format, anyway?” Hannah asked. Barbara was glad she did. She hadn't looked it up either, and she didn't want to be the one to ask. Though Diana never once indicated she judged them for making stupid mistakes, Barbara couldn't shake the fear that she did. It was probably because of how they, collectively, talked about others.

“For the first round, it's two bans each, one pick each, and then Arcturus Forest to finish. For obvious reasons, you can't pick or ban Arcturus Forest.” Diana explained.

“Why is it like that?” Barbara asked. She wasn't going to let Hannah have all the stupid questions at least. That would be rather cruel.

“To ensure that in the last match, the most skilled team usually wins.” Diana replied. “Since Arcturus has no big swing mechanics like the other maps, it tends to be the most representative of pure skill. The format removes this limitation in the next round, though it appears again in the semis and the finals.” Both Barbara and Hannah nodded as they listened.

“So what do we want to ban?” Barbara asked. Before anyone could answer however, they were interrupted by the sound of rapid footfalls. Barbara turned to look behind her, and saw Akko, nearly sprinting down the middle of the aisle towards them. For a second, Barbara tensed up, expecting her to crash into them. Or for her to stop and start saying something stupid. But instead she zoomed past them.

“Amanda!” She shouted, as she came to a stop next to the red head. “They have DDR machines here!”

“Oh no.” Hannah murmured. “She's going to embarrass us.”

“Sick. Wanna go check them out?” Amanda asked. Akko nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes!” She replied. They got up, and trotted off.

“Do we want to go watch this disaster?” Hannah asked.

“It might be funny.” Barbara agreed.

“As tempting as watching Akko make a fool of herself is, I believe we should focus. Our match is relatively soon, and we should probably do some warming up.” Diana replied.

“Yes Diana!” The two girls chorused.

 

**\---URSULA---**

 

Walking around the event was a surreal experience for Ursula. It had been years since she'd been here. It was simultaneously the same, and yet completely different. The building hadn't changed any. Neither had the layout of the event. But the decorations, and the faces were completely different. In some ways, Ursula was sad. She knew the scene moved on. It had moved on from her, and it had moved on from several other big teams since then. But despite that, she was hopeful some things would remain. At least she wasn't alone in that. The online forums she read were full of people bemoaning the good old days.

Few of them spoke highly of her however. It was something that occasionally bothered Ursula, but she'd mostly moved on from it. What had happened had been her decision, and she didn't regret it. If she had to go back and face the same choice, she'd do the same thing. But sometimes, she was sad she was put in that position. Some days, she ached to be able to play again. But she knew she couldn't.

Ursula completed a lap of the event, and returned to the Twitch Lounge, where the tournament players were. She walked over to where her girls should be, but only the blue team was present. They were playing a game of Magical Burst. Ursula slipped in to stand behind Diana's chair, and watch the game over their shoulder.

Diana was playing Ancient Witch right now. Her mind wasn't in the game though. Most people wouldn't notice it, but Ursula could see the tell tale signs of a distraction. The placement of her tree traps wasn't optimal, and there was a gaping hole that her opponent could slip through. Yet Diana didn't seem to have noticed it. Her positioning was a little off too. She was safe, certainly, but she could be safer. Ursula watched silently, waiting to see if perhaps, Diana was just doing something she hadn't expected. That had happened a few times, and Ursula had made a point of giving her the benefit of the doubt.

As the game progressed however, Ursula became more convinced of her theory. In the fights, Diana was making sloppy mistakes. It wasn't enough to cost them the game, and Hannah easily picked up the slack to carry them through, but Diana was killed twice when she shouldn't have been. Finally the game was over, and they all leant back.

“That went well.” Barbara announced.

“I think we've got this.” Hannah agreed. They certainly did. Even with Diana under performing, the team was strong enough to carry her through. But Ursula didn't want her getting complacent. That was what cost teams championships.

“Diana. May I have a word with you?” Ursula asked. Diana sighed, and took her headphones off. Then she looked up.

“Of course coach Ursula.” She replied, climbing out of her chair. Ursula lead her down the aisle, and out to stand beside one of the walls, where people wouldn't overhear them. Then she dropped her voice low.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“Yes, I am.” Diana replied. She looked at Ursula with a level expectation, waiting for the explanation of the question. Ursula smiled.

“Then is something on your mind? You seemed a bit off in that last game.” Ursula continued. This time Diana paused, seemingly thinking it over.

“Yes.” She replied simply after a moment.

“Do you...want to talk about it?” Ursula asked. Diana paused again, looking down. This time it was clear she was thinking it over. Ursula waited patiently. She understood that these things could be difficult to talk about. She didn't intend to push the issue, and so she waited.

“I appreciate your offer, but I don't believe it's a problem to be worthy of discussion.” Diana announced. “I will take a short walk to clear my head however. I imagine that will be enough.” Ursula nodded.

“I'm here, if you change your mind.” Ursula replied, smiling.

“I will keep that in mind.” Diana said. “Thank you. Was that all?”

“Yes, thank you.” Diana nodded.

“In that case, please excuse me.” She turned, and walked back to her team. She spoke to them softly, before walking off, and out of into the main event. Ursula sighed. Hopefully, she'd get herself sorted out. They needed her if they were going to get deep into the event. Ursula didn't doubt the other teams, but they weren't as good as the blue team yet, and they needed to pull results here. Results, and fans. Both would be an uphill battle. The fans at least might be easier, if they could score interviews here. She'd just have to make sure they were ready for them.

The thought of Akko in an interview pushed itself into Ursula's mind. That...could be a disaster. Ursula had to find her now to get the basics drilled into her. Even if she didn't make it back in time for the first game of the blue team, they would be fine without her. This was more important.

 

**\---HANNAH---**

 

The booths were fairly nice. They weren't the best by any means, but for round of 64 booths they were fine. The last round set of matches had finished a few minutes ago, and now they were being given a chance to set up with their keyboards and mice, and get their accounts all sorted. Hannah had been overjoyed when she'd logged into the tournament account. Everything was unlocked. All the rune options, coupled with an infinite amount of rune pages was the main thing. But what made her happiest was all the skins. Hannah adored the skins in the game, but there were so many she couldn't justify to herself spending money on most of them.

She'd spent the past hour setting up rune pages, building copies of her main rune pages, and then making as many minor variants as she could think of. Just in case. It was only now, that they were sitting and getting their keyboards set up, that she remembered she also needed to do her keybindings.

“Are you both ready?” Diana asked.

“Yes Diana.” They chorused. Sometimes Hannah was scared by how in-sync her and Barbara managed to be with that. Diana nodded.

“Good. It seems we're being asked for our first ban.” She said. Hannah glanced over at her screen. There was a chat window open to an administrator for the tournament. “Do we have any reason to change our plan?” Hannah shook her head.

“I don't think so.” Barbara replied.

Diana nodded, and leaned forward, typing “Blue Moon” into the window, and hitting enter. There was a short pause, then a reply.

“They banned Arcturus Tower.” Diana sighed.

“Ohana, I suppose?” She asked. They'd discussed it for a while earlier, and agreed that they wouldn't risk a repeat of dealing with Akko. They had practised Fruitland enough to be comfortable with it, but Ohana was still strange enough that it didn't click with them. They won, certainly, but it was messy. And they needed something clean here.

“I think so, yeah.” Hannah agreed.

“Ohana.” Diana answered. Another pause.

“They banned Fruitland. First map?”

“Polaris please.” Diana responded. Of the two maps available, Polaris was the one they'd agreed was safest to pick. With the map picks sorted, they had nothing to do but wait. It was an odd experience, kind of surreal. The strangest thing to Hannah was the lack of fanfare as they got in. None of the team was there to wish them luck. They were just told it was their turn, and quietly made their way into the booth. This might upset Hannah, if the team was remotely competent. But she knew better to expect anything from them at this point. The absence of Ursula almost hurt, but it was the round of 64. They were confident they had this match in the bag, even without a briefing from the coach.

The one thing that was bothering Hannah was the way Diana still seemed a bit distracted. She was better, certainly. Her play had been more focused, but her calls were absent. At first Hannah and Barbara had been direction less, but they soon picked up on the problem, and began to make calls as well. They weren't as good as Diana, but it worked well enough.

Hannah's thoughts were interrupted by a gentle trumpet, alerting her to an invite to the game. She joined the lobby. There was a short delay, as the rest of the people shuffled in, and the teams were re-arranged. The casters, unfortunately not Tastosis, joined as well, and the observer asked if they were ready. There was a chorus of affirmatives, and the countdown begun. Hannah took a deep breath to steel herself. This was it. The game loaded in, and she reached out for her controls to start playing.

Instead she was met with the hero select screen. Hannah blushed slightly. She'd been so caught up in the moment she forgot that was something that needed to happen.

“I propose we start with Gravity Queen.” Diana announced. “She's a secure pick for her mobility in this map.” Hannah nodded along. The ability to ignore terrain let Gravity Queen move back into lane quite easily.

“Agreed.” She said. Diana glanced at Barbara who nodded as well. They watched Diana select Gravity Queen, and lock it in. Then they sat, waiting for the other team to pick. Finally, it came in. Shooting Star. Equally nebulous in purpose. The enemy team got first pick too.

“How do we want to play Gravity Queen?” Diana asked.

“I think as a support this game.” Hannah replied. “So she can roam more effectively.” Barbara nodded along.

“If we give Hannah someone who can survive by herself for a bit, I can roam between lanes a lot.” She agreed. Diana hummed softly.

“Alright. Who are you thinking Hannah?” She asked. Hannah chewed her lip.

“Maybe...Rapture?” She suggested. Rapture Ranger wasn't the most durable of carries, but she had range, and decent escape. She could survive a minute or two alone in lane, for sure.

“Alright, let's see what they pick first.” Diana announced. After a short pause, the pick appeared. Silent Assassin.

“Wow, they want to jungle on this map?” Barbara remarked.

“At least she has a blink to gank with.” Hannah added. Jungling as a primary strategy on Polaris was typically considered stupid. It was a particularly rich jungle, making for a powerful jungler. But they had no means of ganking without blinks or jumps. And of course, anyone could invade the jungle at any time. The only bonus it gave was how readily the fountain could be checked.

“So I guess they'll be running two solo lanes.” Barbara mused.

“In that case I definitely want Rapture.” Hannah declared. Diana nodded, and locked her in. She chewed her lip for a moment, thinking about her pick. Then she locked in Dancing Duellist. Hannah was a little surprised, but decided not to ask. Diana knew what she was doing. Then the final pick from the other team came in, and Hannah smirked.

“Who do they think we are?” Barbara asked.

“I guess they didn't watch any of the Witches' Cup.” Hannah agreed. They'd picked Moonlit Witch. This was going to be an easy game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hero Profile for Dancing Duellist  
> Roles: Carry, Disabler, Nuker, Initiator
> 
> Showdown(Passive): Dancing Duellist excels at single combat. Each time her an opponent strike each other, she gains a Showdown stack, giving her increased damage and movespeed. Showdown stacks are lost if Dancing Duellist or her opponent take damage from another hero.
> 
> Pierce Guard(Q): Dancing Duellist thrusts at her foe, piercing their armour with her strike. The target has their armour reduced for a short period of time.  
> Parry(W): Dancing Duellist raises her sword in a defensive gesture. The first attack or projectile spell to target her in the next two seconds is reflected at the enemy, dealing it's full effect to them instead.  
> Disarming Advance(E): Dancing Duellist dashes forward a short distance, and swings to throw her enemies weapons off balance. All enemy heroes within a short distance of where she stops are disarmed for a short duration.  
> Blade Dance(R): Dancing Duellist begins a blade dance. She changes her movement, lunging from step to step, and slashing each enemy she passes for a 150% damage critical hit.
> 
> Hero Profile for Rapture Ranger  
> Roles: Carry, Pusher
> 
> Rapture(Passive) Rapture Ranger brings death to all who stand before her. The closer to death her foes are, the stronger she grows. Attacks deal bonus damage to based on the amount of health the target has lost.
> 
> Piercing Arrows(Q): Rapture Ranger's arrows fly with incredible force, piercing through the first target and bouncing to a second target, dealing significantly less damage to the second target.  
> Rain of Arrows(W): Rapture Ranger fires a set of arrows high into the sky, raining a small area with arrows, damaging all enemies in the area and applying on-hit effects twice.  
> Disguise(E): When Rapture Ranger stands close to a tree and remains still, she becomes invisible. Attacks made from this invisibility deal bonus damage, but break the stealth for 0.2 seconds.  
> Rapture Talon(R): Rapture Ranger draws her ultimate weapon, the Rapture Talon, and fires it at her enemies. All enemies caught in it's range take damage, and suffer armour shred for 20 seconds.
> 
> Hero Profile for Silent Assassin  
> Roles: Jungler, Ganker, Escape, Disabler
> 
> Contract Killer(Passive): Silent Assassin is a hired killer at heart, and has a policy of always getting paid. Bonus gold from killing enemies on killing sprees is doubled.
> 
> Silent Advance(Q): Silent Assassin blinks behind the target unit. If it's an enemy, she deals an immediate attack to the target. If the target is an ally, the cooldown is halved.  
> Fan of Knives(W): Silent Assassin hurls out a fan of knives, dealing damage to all enemies in a small area around her. Killing an enemy that was hit by Fan of Knives in the past 6 seconds immediately refreshes Fan of Knives cooldown.  
> Crippling Strike(E): Silent Assassin prepares a crippling blow to her enemy. The next attack she makes is a critical hit, and slows the target by 50% for 3 seconds.  
> Mirrored Vows(R): Silent Assassin forces her vow of silence on her enemies, silencing them and causing them to take extra damage from each of her attacks for 10 seconds.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said hero profiles would be coming the next day? Yeah...I didn't. Anyway, they're up now, so go check them out.
> 
> So, here we go, first game of the tournament! Hope you all enjoy it! It was VERY hard to write a game with only two perspectives available. Beginning "Operation avoid Diana's perspective" when I did was a mistake. But I think that, overall, it worked out okay so I'm good with it.
> 
> Also! This chapter is being posted BEFORE THE NEXT ONE IS FINISHED! I've got like...one more night of work to put in on it, but this week has been ~self-improvement week~ at work, and so I've been trying to re-structure how I approach work to free up another day off, which means I'm busier, and more stressed, so writing got pushed back a bit. I'll try and double down on Sunday and push out two days of work to catch back up and get on top of stuff.
> 
> Hope you're all still enjoying it! I realize it's been a bit scattered thus far, but I am building up to good things next chapter I promise!
> 
> And uh...hero profiles to come later when it's not 3am and I should've been in bed an hour ago.

**\---AKKO---**

 

“We missed them.” Akko groaned as they walked back into the Twitch Lounge. She'd gotten caught up in the DDR with Amanda, and so they hadn't realised the next round was starting until it was almost too late. They'd sprinted across the event, but by the time they got there the blue team was already in the booths.

“Oh well.” Amanda declared. “They'd probably just snub us anyway.”

“Huh?” Akko asked. Amanda shrugged.

“You know.” She said, before fixing her posture, and placing a hand to her mouth. “Why would we need luck from you?” She asked, doing her best impression of Barbara. “Really, if anything your luck would just drag us down!” She added, switching to Hannah now. Akko snorted, then started laughing. Amanda smirked, clearly satisfied with her.

“You're right. I'm glad we didn't make it in time.” She announced. They made their way around to behind the booth, where a few lounges were set up with a screen watching the match. The locations of the screens had to be carefully placed to avoid potentially allowing a player to see them, and so for the early matches, they were simply screened behind each booth. An attendant stood by, reserving one of the seats near the front. At the sight of Akko and Amanda, she gestured to the seat for them.

“Thanks. These saved for team mates or what?” Amanda asked.

“Team mates, coaches and support staff, yes.” The attendant answered. She took a few steps away as Akko and Amanda settled in to watch. The match had barely started, and all they'd really missed was the moving to lane. As soon as Akko saw Diana's lane, her face lit up.

“Someone's playing Moonlit Witch!” She exclaimed. “I hope they win!” Amanda sighed.

“Aren't you meant to cheer for our team?” She asked, side-eyeing Akko. Akko looked at her.

“Are you?”

“Nah. Fuck em. I hope they get knocked out right now.” She replied, grinning. “But they probably won't.” Akko nodded. She was right. If there was a real risk of them losing, she probably wouldn't cheer against them.

“Yeah. I wonder how they're going to build Witch.” She mused. The Moonlit Witch was currently in Rod form, though that didn't tell her much about the overall plan. It was unfortunate just how much of the Moonlit Witch's situation was hidden in her stats, and as a spectator it was hard to get the full picture. The rod form was usually defensive, so it was probably paired with either the bow form, or the broom form, depending on if she wanted to fight or farm.

“Alright ladies and gentlemen, here we go, match four of the Edinburgh Esports Exposition Magical Burst tournament. This one between the Luna Nova Witches Blue, spawning on the south side of the map, and Team Reflect spawning on the north side of the map.” Khaldor began the cast. Akko grinned. She loved Khaldor and Wolf.

“We're jumping in a little late to this one, so we'll run over introductions quickly, and then get into the action. So, playing for the Witches, we have team captain, White Witch!” Wolf picked up. As he announced her, the camera zoomed in on Diana's Dancing Duelist. She was running the Redcoat skin.

“Fucking Brit.” Amanda muttered. Akko snorted softly.

“When did she change her name?” She wondered aloud.

“Probably when that cute girl came around to sort out tournament accounts.” Amanda replied. “I guess she realised DCavendish was a shit name.” Akko nodded. She didn't disagree. White Witch was a good name though.

“And over here, the Luna Nova carry, we have Favor, playing on Rapture Ranger!” Wolf continued, as the camera jumped over to Hannah. She was running the school girl skin for Rapture Ranger. Amanda snorted loudly.

“Favor! What kind of name is that?” She asked as she laughed.

“And her support, playing Gravity Queen, Foru!” The camera jumped to Barbara, who was presently soaking experience from the high ground. She was also running a school girl skin.

“Man, they really should've asked for help with these names.” Amanda declared.

“I think they're okay.” Akko replied. “They suit them.”

“Huh?”

“Well I mean, Barbara and Hannah's sound like they're saying something important, but they're really meaningless. And Diana's suggests she thinks she's really special and important.” Akko explained. Amanda nodded slowly.

“Huh. Good point. Guess they nailed it then.” She replied.

“And now, the team captain for Team Reflect.” Wolf started the introduction.

“Hang on Wolf!” Khaldor cut him off. The camera hadn't left the right lane where Hannah and Barbara were. Barbara was advancing much further forward along the upper cliff face, and getting behind their opponent in lane, Shooting Star. “It looks like we might be about to have a fight here, so we'll have to finish our introductions in a moment.”

 

**\---BARBARA---**

 

“Alright, let's go.” Hannah announced. Shooting Star had levelled her Q, and shown it in lane. That was a mistake. As soon as they'd seen that, Hannah had started baiting her forward. She'd adjusted her positioning, shying away and getting defensive. Escapade, the Shooting Star player, had fallen for it, and advanced to settle into the middle of the creep wave, zoning Hannah out of it. Or so he thought. Barbara had also skilled her Q, while Hannah had a level in her E, providing her some sizeable damage output. Barbara slid into lane behind Shooting Star, and hurled the first Q at him. Most people for some reason threw them as a barrage. Barbara didn't get it. She was sure there was a reason for it, since even Diana did it, but she'd never found it.

Each time the Q hit, it inflicted a two second slow. That slow didn't stack, it just got refreshed with each hit. When all the Qs were thrown in a burst, the slow was three seconds at most. But chained Qs could apply up to eight seconds of slow. That was massive. As Shooting Star turned, and started to run, both Barbara and Hannah closed in on her. Barbara hit a second Q before she started auto attacking. Hannah started a second later. They chunked down the health bar, getting Shooting Star most of the way down. She dashed forward with her Q, but with the slow it was a rather pitiful distance. Barbara threw her final Q a little early, lining Hannah up to take the kill on her next attack.

“First blood!” The announcer declared.

 

**Favor has slain Escapade for First Blood!**

 

“Good job girls.” Diana said. Barbara grinned.

“Thanks.” She replied.

“How are you doing in lane?” Hannah asked. Barbara jumped her screen over to Diana's lane to check. She trusted Diana, but she was also acting strange. There was a real chance she'd lie about how things were going.

“Acceptably.” Diana replied. She had near total lane control. Barbara clicked on Moonlit Witch to check her stats.

“What the fuck?” She exclaimed.

“What is it?” Hannah asked.

“Moonlit Witch is straight AP.” Barbara replied. Hannah paused. Then she started laughing.

“Oh my god, really?” She asked.

“It is a strange experience to lane against her like this.” Diana said. Barbara was genuinely shocked. She'd seen Akko built nothing but one stat before. Or at least, heard her talk about it. But that was in mono-battles. She remembered how Akko described it.

“Hilarious, but not very good.” Was the way she'd put it. In serious games, she never built a single stat up very high in the early game, to keep her utility spells open.

“What has she got skilled?” Hannah asked.

“Her Q.” Diana replied. “So far I've parried it each time.” Barbara and Hannah laughed again.

“Okay, okay.” Hannah said, as she settled down. “No more. I need to focus on making money.”

“That would be helpful, yes.” Diana replied. Barbara settled in to lurk in the lane and soak experience, while Hannah farmed it. If the Moonlit Witch was building one stat up, she likely wouldn't be super strong in the late game, which meant that it was in their best interest to draw things out. Especially with how effectively Diana was zoning her out of lane. The only possible threat was the Silent Assassin.

“I'm going to go ward the jungle in a little bit.” Barbara announced. “I think it would be good to know what SA is up to.”

“Yeah, maybe you could gank for Diana too?” Hannah suggested.

“That sounds good. I'll hit level 2, then go for it.” Barbara replied. “If that's okay Diana?”

“I won't say no to a gank.” Diana replied softly. Barbara frowned. She didn't like this passive, distracted Diana. Thankfully their opponents were such a joke she knew they'd win regardless of how distracted she was. So she resolved to get some answers tonight when they went out to celebrate. Or at least, to push whatever it was so far from Diana's mind she was back to normal by the next match.

 

Level 2 came fairly quickly. The ward Barbara had called on the courier came a second later. She pulled back under the tower, and then ran at the wall, building up speed, before transitioning into her gravity slide. It took her over the edge of the cliff, and into the jungle below. Warding the jungle was a pain in the ass. The map was designed with plenty of routes through the jungle, to make a total shut out on the Fountain of Polaris impossible.

Unfortunately, it also made placing good, anti-jungling wards rough too. There were a few places that were important though, valuable camps that would be rotated to constantly. So Barbara went for the nearest one of those. She made sure she had objects in her Q as she approached. If she saw Silent Assassin, she'd need the slow to help her escape. The fact she could do a slide-by nuking was a nice bonus though.

She didn't find Silent Assassin there, but she threw down a ward anyway. They'd be able to keep an eye on her with that. If she didn't pass through regularly enough, she was up to something. With the ward placed, Barbara changed direction, and headed for Diana's lane.

“Diana, can you try and bait her forward a bit?” Barbara asked.

“I'll do my best.” Diana answered. “She's quite timid right now however.” Barbara jumped to watch Diana's lane. She stepped back out of the minion wave, and hovered over her ranged ones instead. Moonlit Witch moved up a little, to get into range to take CS, but she was still fairly far back. It was enough for Barbara's plan though.

“Alright, get ready to jump on her.” Barbara requested. She slid into lane, and immediately threw her E an inch behind the Moonlit Witch. The Gravity Shift hurled her towards Diana, who immediately pounced on her with her Q. Moonlit Witch responded quickly with her W on Diana, turning her into a harmless rabbit. Barbara took the chance to strike. She was stuck on the far side of her E, but she could still throw her Q over it to hit and slow Moonlit Witch. Diana kept pace with her, as they both skirted around the edge of Barbara's E. Then Diana was back to normal, and laying into Moonlit Witch. She did her best to fight back, but Dancing Duelist was just straight up stronger in a fight, and Barbara was adding to the damage with her Q.

 

**White Witch has slain** **GainfulWrath**

 

“Great job Diana!” Hannah exclaimed.

“That was perfect.” Barbara added.

“Thank you girls.” Diana replied. “Barbara, are you returning to your lane?”

“I was going to.” Barbara answered.

“I think you should push that one.” Hannah said. “Shooting Star is acting weird. I think something's up. So just push that lane, and I'll hang back here.”

 

**\---HANNAH---**

 

Hannah didn't just think something was up. She knew it was. Shooting Star was being way too aggressive for someone fighting alone. She was moving up and making reckless, stupid moves, begging to be jumped on. A lesser player would take the bait. But Hannah wasn't a lesser player. She would never play like that without back up, and she knew better than to assume her opponent would make the mistake. Perhaps if they'd moved like that before, or shown some other signs of being bad she'd think it was a mistake. But without any evidence to the contrary, she assumed her opponent was good.

So she hugged her tower, and watched the CS slowly bleed away. It was frustrating, but it was better than dying. And they were taking the tower in the other lane, so the enemy had to make something happen here if they didn't want to fall behind. Shooting Star didn't let up. She kept pushing forward, until she was running her lane at the tower. Hannah frowned, and started to doubt herself.

Perhaps she was giving them too much faith? Maybe it was a big bluff? Pretend you have back up, and then exploit the way your opponent backs off. It wasn't Hannah's style, but she'd seen it done. And now that they were under tower it was probably safe. So Hannah jumped on it. Shooting Star reacted immediately, engaging as the tower started shooting at her. She took a hit from the tower, and several attacks from Hannah, knocking her below half health, before saviour diving away. She returned with Silent Assassin.

“Shit.” Hannah muttered. She made a break for her tower again. She was already underneath it, if they kept trying to fight here, they'd be at a huge disadvantage. She just had to try and survive for long enough to drive them away. Shooting Star had other plans however. She dived forward with her Q, before activating her E. Hannah went flying back out into the lane. Silent Assassin had moved into position to wait for her.

Hannah grit her teeth. She'd been knocked out of the tower's protection. Not far, but far enough. Silent Assassin activated her E immediately, hitting Hannah for a big crit, which also applied a slow. She crept back to the tower. She wouldn't survive trying to man-fight this one. She did get under the tower. It wasn't enough however. Silent Assassin stepped in behind her, and landed a single hit to secure the kill, before pulling away, only taking a single tower attack for it. She recalled right there on the spot.

“Damn it.” Hannah cursed, and flopped back in her chair.

“Calm down.” Diana said softly. “We went even on the trade.” Hannah nodded. Diana was right. She seemed to be getting her head back in the game. Not entirely though, since she'd normally follow up with some clever play to turn the even into a win. But Hannah wasn't sure what that could be. It's not as if they could simply avoid giving their opponents an easy way to gank them.

Hannah paused. Actually, they could. Silent Assassin would typically enter a lane by blinking up into the lane. But the minions walked a little too far away, and her blink needed to target units. So either she had to jump on one of them, or the enemy would have to move to the edge to give her an entrance. The exception to that rule was Shooting Star, who could pull Silent Assassin in much more effectively. So they just had to keep Shooting Star from being able to create a surprise 2v1.

“Barbara, could you come back to lane with me?” Hannah asked. “And don't leave again.”

“Got it.” Barbara replied. Hannah appreciated that she didn't argue, or ask questions. She was a really good support in that way.

“Diana, keep your distance from the side. So they have to telegraph if SA is coming to gank you.” Hannah added. Diana nodded.

“I will, thank you.” She replied. She probably didn't need to be told, but she was gracious enough not to complain. Any other day Hannah wouldn't even bother, but she today she was concerned. And that concern apparently took the form of unnecessary warnings.

Shooting Star didn't get much done in lane before Barbara arrived. Hannah wasn't far behind her, and quickly they re-established lane dominance. The game settled back into a comfortable equilibrium. At one point, Silent Assassin appeared on the mini-map near Barbara's ward. A second later a notice flashed across the screen.

 

**White Witch has slain GainfulWrath**

 

Hannah smiled. Diana was at least somewhat back to her normal self.

 

**\---URSULA---**

 

Ursula had eventually found Akko. She was walking across the upper walkways, looking down into the crowd below to find her when she spotted the Japanese girl playing DDR. A small crowd was gathered around her. She was safe from being dragged into an interview there, and so Ursula had decided not to rush down to find her. She took her time getting down to the DDR machines, and when she arrived Akko was gone. For a second, she'd been concerned. Then she noticed that the next matches were starting. It was very likely Akko had returned to the lounge to watch. Ursula wouldn't make it back in time to avoid missing the action. So she made her way to the nearest viewing area, and settled in to watch.

Watching the game, she could tell the walk had helped Diana clear her head a little. She was back in her usual form, playing in lane excellently. However there was still a shadow of the problem lingering in how the team moved. Normally they were a well oiled machine, working perfectly in-sync. Today however, there was a slight delay in that. When they acted, they did so well, but there was a slight lag in when they jumped on things. Once they began moving they were fine, but it was clear the direction that the team usually steered by was lacking.

They'd be okay however. Diana was trouncing GainfulWrath on Moonlit Witch. Ursula was very pleased to see that. The build was absolute trash, a disappointment to the hero, and everything it stood for. Bow-only at least was a somewhat viable option, but pure AP was a garbage build. Diana scored a third kill, and Ursula let out a cheer with the crowd. She quickly settled down. She shouldn't be getting worked up like that, not while representing Luna Nova, at least.

Team Reflect seemed to be aware of how dangerous Diana was getting, as they moved Silent Assassin up to the side of the lane while Moonlit Witch returned. She hugged the side wall, coming in, and immediately made a line for Diana. It was a risky move, since Diana had just hit level 6 off the last fight. Ursula smiled. This would be interesting.

Silent Assassin blinked up to the lane, and immediately the two of them got aggressive on Diana. Moonlit Witch led off with her W, turning Dancing Duelist into a harmless squirrel. Diana began pulling back, as they surged forward to attack her. It was a mistake, Ursula knew. But they wouldn't realise it yet. She would never lead with her W in this scenario. That was just asking for trouble.

Dancing Duellist returned to her normal self, and Diana turned immediately. She activated her ultimate, and dashed through both Silent Assassin and Moonlit Witch. While using her ultimate, Dancing Duellist stopped moving normally. She'd remain stationary, even when given a move command, before instantly dashing in the direction she was ordered, dealing a critical hit to all enemies in her way. It was a weaker than average critical, but still enough to chunk down an enemy. She got four dashes at the first level, but it would still be enough. Ursula's breath caught, as Diana took her second dash, hitting them both again. They were low, but not low enough to die on the next dash. Immediately they split up, denying Diana the clean sweep.

She moved down, striking Silent Assassin. Silent Assassin juked left. So did Moonlit Witch. Ursula caught her breath. It seemed they'd miscommunicated how to dodge. Diana punished them for it, lunging through both, killing Silent Assassin, and positioning herself between Moonlit Witch, and the safety of her tower. Moonlit Witch threw her Q, trying to get in whatever damage she could. Diana parried, securing the kill.

Ursula jumped to her feet and cheered. The crowd around her cheered too, but far less enthusiastically. She got a few strange looks, and quickly cleared her throat, before sitting down again. She needed to stop making a fool of herself while in uniform. Not that that was anything new, she supposed. She pulled her hat down a little bit to try and hide her face, and turned her attention back to the game.

Diana was, predictably, capitalising on the success, shoving her lane out and getting to the tower. Hannah and Barbara meanwhile had also ramped up the aggression, and were pushing in on Shooting Star, knowing she lacked the support to defend her. They pushed her back under tower, and for a moment they seemed to be content to leave her there. Then Barbara dived with a Gravity Kick. Immediately the tower changed aggro onto her, and Hannah dived in behind her. Together they quickly secured the kill on Shooting Star, though Barbara took two tower hits in the process. She could survive one more, but there was no way she' safely get out before taking the fourth, fatal hit.

Then she threw down her E on top of herself. Immediately she was shoved out of the area, away from the tower. She took the hit, just as she stepped out of range, denying the kill. Ursula smiled. They were all excellent players, and she was proud to say she was their couch, even if in the case of these three, she didn't need to do much. The game was going well, and odds were good they'd win.

“The Fountain of Polaris will be active in thirty seconds!” The announcer declared. Ursula glanced at the respawn timers. Still 15 seconds on the Silent Assassin. They wouldn't be contesting this. The odds were even better now.

 

**\---HANNAH---**

 

Hannah wasn't sure anyone bothered to watch the end of their first game. She wouldn't have. Once the fountain came up, it was basically locked in. Diana had successfully taken her tower, and moved to the centre, along with Hannah. Barbara had recalled to heal up. As soon as the fountain activated, Hannah secured the buff, and they both recalled as well. Then as three they ran up the right lane. They were unstoppable, and they easily knocked down both towers, before powering down the towers, and shoving into the base. The enemy fought them twice. They died both times, and after the second time, they called GG before they lost their core.

“Well, that was disappointing.” Hannah remarked.

“Yeah, I was hoping for a challenge.” Barbara agreed.

“We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves.” Diana cautioned them. “Though, I don't imagine they will do any better next time.” Hannah nodded.

“So now what do we do?” She asked.

“We'll be invited to the next game in a second.” Diana replied. So they sat in silence, waiting, until sure enough, an invitation appeared. Getting the game sorted took a moment, but soon they were back on the picks and bans.

“First pick?” Diana asked.

“Do you want Gravity?” Barbara asked. Diana shook her head.

“Not yet.” She replied. “I think I should stay on Duellist.”

“Let's pick that then.” Hannah said. Diana nodded, and locked in Dancing Duellist. Immediately the picks were revealed. The enemy had picked Moonlit Witch first. “What the fuck are they thinking?”

“I imagine they're thinking they can trick us with a different build.” Diana replied.

“I hope so. I'd hate to think they'd first pick that trash build again.” Barbara declared. This time, the enemy got the first pick. They changed it up, and picked Loyal Defender. Then it came back to the blue team to pick their two heroes.

“Do we keep things the same?” Diana asked. “It might help us save tricks for future rounds.” Hannah chewed on her lip, thinking.

“I think so?” She said. Diana nodded, and quickly locked in Gravity Queen and Rapture Ranger. Hannah didn't really want to play her again, but it was the smart decision. So she'd go with it. They waited for a minute, to see what the last pick was. Hannah frowned as the pick appeared. Gravekeeper. That was a weird one. It was going to be that kind of game, it seemed.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry! Posting the last chapter without being finished on this one was a mistake. BUT! I'm back on track now. A whole chapter and a bit ahead. I lost internet over the weekend, which is when I finished, so I couldn't post it as I was ready and then yesterday was busy catching up on work.
> 
> Also! This chapter is the last one I wrote before I began re-watching to get my voice back and oh man is Akko off the mark, so expect a slightly more accurate Akko going forward. Slightly.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy! Hero profiles will be posted with the next chapter as some are needed for the next match but I don't want to give any spoilers.

**\---AMANDA---**

 

“That was a good game.” Akko remarked. Amanda shrugged.

“It was okay I guess.” She replied. She hadn't really enjoyed watching it, honestly. Stomps were fun to play, they weren't fun to watch. Without any tension, the game got boring around the middle. Diana's double kill had been pretty cool at least. If Amanda hadn't seen it done several times before during practice she might've been excited. Akko nodded.

“Yeah, I guess you're right.” She said. They sat in awkward silence as the picks went on. Amanda leant back in the chair, and closed her eyes, listening to the announcers. Finally Akko spoke up again. “Hey uh, is Diana being weird today you think?” Amanda opened one eye to glance at her.

“I dunno. I don't bother analysing how prissy bitches act.” She replied. “Why, something happen?” Akko hesitated.

“Maybe.” She said finally. “I don't remember. I was really sleepy when I got in.” Amanda perked up at this.

“Oh? Do you remember anything at all?” She asked. This was a prime opportunity to get some ammunition for later. She probably couldn't tease Akko about it too well, but Diana? Diana would surely remember what happened. And so all Amanda needed was enough to simply imply she knew what had happened.

“Well, she gave me some water to drink, and then helped me into bed.” Akko started explaining. “And she took my jacket off, and we talked a little bit, but I don't remember what about. But I must've said something stupid, because she's been avoiding me ever since.” Amanda frowned. That wasn't enough. On the big screen, the game was finally beginning. Amanda didn't care. She turned in her chair to look at Akko.

“Well fuck. Sounds like you really stepped in it. Maybe I can help you work it out?” She suggested. Akko looked at her suspiciously.

“Why are you offering to help? You don't try and help anyone.” She asked. Amanda shrugged.

“I dunno, we're friends, y'know? I give you a bunch of shit but like...this matters to you.” She explained. It wasn't entirely a lie. Sure, she wanted to give Diana shit, but she also did like Akko. Her happiness was a nice side-effect of sorting it out. Even so, Akko gave her a suspicious look, before finally sighing.

“Alright.” She said. “So...where do we start?”

“Do you remember anything about the conversation at all?” Amanda began. Akko thought for a moment, before nodding.

“I think we were talking about sleeping.” She replied. She thought for a moment, and Amanda left her to go. Finally Akko nodded. “Yeah. It was about sleeping, because I'd been worried about the first night, where I slept without pants.” Amanda held up a hand.

“You're sleeping in the same bed as her without pants?” She asked. Akko blushed.

“I forgot to bring pyjamas. I think we talked about that. I don't remember what we said though. I mean, I didn't wear pants last night either, so I guess it wasn't an issue.” She continued.

“Okay, got it so far. So you talked about sleeping without pants.” Amanda said, nodding along. She could work with that.

“Wait. Maybe it was an issue.” Akko declared, planting a fist into her palm. “And she's upset because I did it again!” Amanda stared at her. There was no way that was it. But Akko felt better, and Amanda had what she wanted.

“Yeah, probably.” Amanda replied, turning her attention back to the game. “You gonna start wearing pants?” Akko nodded.

“Yeah, it should help, right?” She said.

“Right.” Amanda agreed. As they finished talking, Ursula came hurrying in. She spotted them, and quickly jogged over to settle beside Akko.

“There you both are.” She said, as she settled in. “I was looking all over for you.”

“Oh, sorry! We were playing DDR.” Akko explained. Ursula nodded.

“I saw, but then I lost you when you finished. I was meaning to speak with you about interviews, but it can wait until this game is over.” Ursula explained. Amanda snorted softly. She could understand why Ursula looked so panicked then. Akko doing an interview was primed to be a disaster.

“Hey coach.” Amanda asked. “If they win this one, won't Barbara and Hannah have an interview? I mean, Diana isn't being very talkative today.” Ursula paused, thinking for a second.

“Oh no.” She said softly.

 

**\---HANNAH---**

 

As Hannah stared at the victory screen, she wasn't sure why she'd worried. Gravekeeper wasn't picked very often, so she'd gotten herself hyped up for some sort of sleeper strategy. But all she was met with was the reason Gravekeeper wasn't picked often. She just...didn't perform well. The enemy Moonlit Witch had been just as boring, building pure AD this time. She did pull back a few kills on Diana as a result, but they were always too little too late, and in the end they just rolled over the entire team. Hannah didn't feel good about the win. She didn't feel good playing the game. It'd just been boring. Though, it was the first round, and that was to be expected.

With the game over, the girls picked up their gear, and shuffled out. They were quickly met by Smix, who was waiting with a camera crew and a set of microphones. She waved at the team. Barbara and Hannah waved back.

“Girls, I'm not feeling up to this.” Diana announced. “Would you mind handling it for me?”

“Of course Diana!” They chorused. Diana nodded, and turned, walking off, leaving Hannah and Barbara to take the interview. They glanced at each other, and nodded. They'd talked about this a lot. They'd practised answering all sorts of questions. They were ready. So they walked up, fixing their hats as they went.

“Hey, Foru, Favor, great game. Do you mind if we do a quick interview?” Smix asked.

“We'd love to.” Hannah replied immediately.

“Great!” Smix said. “Just, give us a second to go live, and we'll get started.” She looked to the camera man, who paused, before finally giving her a thumbs up. “Hello everyone! I'm Smix, reporting from the Twitch Lounge, and I'm joined here by Foru and Favor of the Luna Nova Witches, who just won their first games here in the round of 64. Thanks for joining me today, and congratulations on your victory.”

“Thank you very much Smix.” Barbara replied politely.

“And we're very happy to be here.” Hannah added.

“Alright, so, Luna Nova. Not the most well regarded team these days, I'm sorry to say. But you're bringing a lot of new blood here today. How are you feeling about your chances here?” Smix asked. The girls looked at each other.

“I think it's unfortunate that we had to bring three teams here.” Hannah began, nodding a little to Barbara. Barbara nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, in a perfect world, all of the Luna Nova teams would make it to the finals, but since we have three, one of us will have to be knocked out in the semis.” Smix raised her eyebrows.

“You're quite confident.” She remarked.

“Of course. We've seen the competition on offer so far, and we've seen how good the red and green teams are.” Barbara explained. “And even though they aren't quite as good as the blue team, they're more than a match for everyone here.” Smix nodded along.

“Well, I'm sure we've got some great things to look forward to. But let's talk about this current game for a moment. I've heard a lot of people complain about the Moonlit Witch, saying she can be too many things. How did you feel about her in this current match?” Smix asked. Hannah and Barbara shared another glance, and Barbara tipped her head slightly, indicating for Hannah to take the question.

“Disappointed, mostly.” Hannah answered.

“Disappointed, why is that?”

“Well, Akko, the red team captain, mains Moonlit Witch. In fact, that's all she plays. And so we were expecting a bit more of a challenge.” Hannah explained.

“So, the red team captain is a one-trick?” Smix asked playfully.

“Hardly.” Barbara picked it up. “A one-trick would imply she plays the same hero every time. When Akko picks Moonlit Witch, she still has at least 8 heroes to pick within that pick.” Hannah nodded along.

“Really, she's the most versatile player in Luna Nova.” She agreed. “I remember hearing someone say laning against her is like laning against two or three different heroes at the same time.”

“That's quite impressive. I'm sure we'll have a lot to look forward to later today.” Smix replied. “So, before we move on, any words for your fans?”

“Thanks for your support!” Barbara said, waving to the camera.

“And I hope you'll tune in to watch Luna Nova kick more ass!” Hannah finished, flashing a big smile and a peace sign.

“Alright, back to you Tastosis.” Smix said. The camera man waved his hand to indicate that they were done. “Thanks for that. You girls are good at this, would you mind doing more interviews during the event?” Hannah beamed.

“We'd love to!” She replied quickly.

“Thanks! See you round!” Smix said. They nodded, and slipped away. They turned to find Ursula standing behind them, looking very shocked.

“That was...very polite of you girls.” She remarked.

“Of course. We wouldn't want to reflect poorly on the team.” Barbara replied.

“We have the others to do that after all.” Hannah added. Ursula sighed. Behind her Amanda and Akko were sitting. Akko stuck her tongue out at them. Very mature.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko was surprised by how nice Hannah and Barbara had been in their interview. They'd been polite and charming, and just a little bit cheeky. If Akko wasn't friends with them, she might've been a fan. But she was friends with them, and so she knew it was a facade. She used the word friends loosely. Now that their match was over, they'd slipped off with Diana to go play more games, or something. Akko wasn't sure what they were up to. What she was sure of was she didn't know what to do.

The rest of her team wasn't here yet, and so she couldn't play Magical Burst. Well, she could, but not to practice. It'd just be silly games with Amanda and Jasminka. Maybe she could coax Ursula into playing with her. She doubted it. She suspected Ursula would tell her off for suggesting it at all. She'd probably call it a distraction to her teamwork, and encourage her to focus on the match ahead.

So instead Akko stayed to watch the next match. As luck would have it, the team they were watching didn't have any support staff, so they were allowed to stay in their front row seats. Unfortunately, there was a short delay between the matches. While they waited, the screen showed a repeat of recent cinematics. One of them was the Moonlit Witch character spotlight. Akko watched it, just as enraptured as the first hundred times she'd seen it. Once it got to the end, she let out a sigh.

“That's so cool.” She declared. “But I still don't get the Arae Aryrha thing.”

“You don't?” Ursula asked. She sounded surprised. Akko shook her head. Ursula smiled at her. “And I thought you were Chariot's biggest fan.”

“Huh?” Akko asked. She was Chariot's biggest fan. But what did that have to do with it?

“Then surely you must know about the teachings of Arcturus.” Ursula replied. “I assumed you'd be following them, just like Chariot did.” Akko blinked. She'd never heard of this before.

“She did? How do you know? She never mentioned it any interviews!” Akko asked, leaning forward. Ursula hesitated.

“Didn't she? Well, I guess I must've heard about it when we were both on Luna Nova.” Ursula explained awkwardly. “She really didn't mention it in an interview?” Akko shook her head emphatically.

“Nope! I'd remember if she had! I memorised all of her interviews!”

“Of course you did.” Amanda muttered. “I'm gonna bail before this gets too boring.” She climbed to her feet and stalked off. Akko hardly noticed, as she stared at Ursula. For her part, Ursula squirmed awkwardly under the attention.

“So what are the teachings of Arcturus? Who's Arcturus? What do I have to do?” Akko began bombarding her with questions.

“Akko!” Ursula interrupted her. Akko snapped her mouth shut. “Let me start explaining first.” Akko nodded. “Arcturus was one of the first developers of Magical Burst. He, or she, we don't know much about them, had some strong opinions on what made a good player, and they left them in seven lessons.”

“Like the Moonlit Witches ultimate?” Akko asked. Ursula nodded.

“It was based on Arcturus' lessons, which is why Chariot started studying them.” She explained. “I thought you were too, because you clearly have achieved the first one.”

“I have? What's the first one?” Akko asked.

“Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor.” Ursula said. Akko paused. It sounded familiar. She'd heard Chariot say it a few times, but she'd never thought too hard about it. It was always followed by…

“Strive for your ideal place.” Akko murmured softly. Ursula nodded.

“That's right. And clearly that's what you've done, since you applied to Luna Nova, despite not knowing if Moonlit Witch would be in rotation.” She explained. Akko smiled.

“What's the next lesson?” She asked.

“Phaidoari Afairynghor” Ursula replied. Akko frowned. That one also sounded familiar, but she couldn't recall what it meant.

“What's that one?” Akko asked. Ursula smiled.

“I don't think it will teach you anything if I just told you.” She replied. “But you've been making a lot of progress since you joined Luna Nova. So I'm sure you'll have learned the lesson by the time the tournament is over.” Akko frowned.

“But I wanna know now.” She complained.

“I know, but you can't rush these things Akko.” Ursula told her. Akko sighed. She was probably right. She'd been right about so many other things.

“Can you tell me what Arae Aryrha means at least?”

“Not yet. It's the third lesson.” Ursula answered. Akko sighed.

“Okay...” She grumbled. She leaned back in the chair, and stared at the ceiling. “Hey, while we're talking about weird words, what does Wagandea mean?” Ursula frowned.

“That's...a discussion for another time.” She said. Akko huffed.

“Alright. I'm gonna go play something I guess.” She declared, as she climbed to her feet.

“Would you like to have another go at DDR?” Ursula asked. “I would appreciate the chance to play something as well.” Akko's face lit up.

“Really? You want to play DDR with me?” She asked. Ursula nodded.

“Of course.” She replied, smiling. Akko beamed back at her. Though a small part of her wondered, if Ursula wanted to play with her, why didn't she play Magical Burst with Akko at all.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Diana was grateful that the game was over, and she had a few days to get her thoughts together. The conversation with Akko the night before had sent her for a loop. She wasn't too sure why, if she was being honest with herself. Akko had expressed an interest in a very gay VN when she'd mentioned it. Of course she'd be gay. Or at least, bi. Diana didn't want to assume anything. She'd simply been in denial that first night. Denial would keep her safe from anything strange happening. But last night basically confirmed Akko was somewhat interested. Which left Diana with a dilemma.

What the fuck did she do with this knowledge? She had a very clear goal in mind, and she didn't want to be distracted by the possibility of kissing this very cute girl who might be an option. Nor did she want to consider the possibility of them being incompatible. The distraction of a relationship was potentially lethal to an esports career, and Diana could only imagine the damage a failed relationship would do. Especially if she had to remain in contact with Akko afterwards. And she would have to. Luna Nova had been her dream team for as long as she'd been interested in Magical Burst, and she wouldn't leave it for anything. The same could be said for Akko however. They'd be at an impasse.

The best choice, as far as Diana could see, would be to simply keep her distance. Make sure to board with someone else in the future tournaments, and avoid engaging with Akko too seriously. Akko was under the impression she wasn't gay. There was no risk of Akko making a move. All she had to do was convince Amanda to stop shoving Akko at her, and she could survive. And the interest would fade. Not that there was much interest to begin with. Akko was, in many ways, the opposite of what Diana wanted.

“Where's the coach going?” Hannah asked, interrupting Diana's thoughts. Diana looked up to see Akko and Ursula walking past.

“I think I overheard them saying something about playing DDR.” Barbara replied. Diana was reminded of the prospect of watching earlier. She'd claimed she didn't want to watch Akko make a fool of herself. The truth was she didn't want to watch Akko jumping around in her short Luna Nova skirt.

“Wanna go watch this time? We might get to watch Akko fall on her ass.” Hannah asked. “And we don't have anything else to do today or tomorrow.” Diana hesitated. Hannah was right. They didn't have anything else to do. They'd hit the round of 32. Technically, that warranted a reward. They were going for drinks that evening as a celebration. But that didn't mean Diana couldn't reward herself now.

“I can't think of a reason we can't.” Diana lied. She could think of many reasons. It was beneath them to go and watch Akko fail at something. It was mean-spirited to wish ill upon her.

“Well, let's go.” Barbara announced. They got to their feet, and followed along to the DDR machines. They arrived to find Akko and Ursula were setting up on a pair of machines. They both had their witch hats on, which brought a small, amused smile to Diana's face. There was already a small crowd around them, which was odd. No one else present had a crowd gathered. Then the game started.

Akko had picked the hardest difficulty. And she was nailing it. Diana had expected there to a decent amount of bouncing involved in the game, as Akko jumped on the spot. But there was none. Her body was mostly stable from how fast she moved her feet. She slammed her foot down on the button, and immediately pulled it back, moving to the next spot. It was...incredible. Ursula, by contrast, was much slower, and looked a lot more like what Diana had expected, jumping around somewhat to keep up with the pace of the game.

“Jesus.” Hannah muttered.

“Tell me about it.” Barbara grumbled.

“I think it's quite impressive.” Diana remarked idly.

“I guess.” Hannah agreed. “Kinda disappointing though.”

“I suppose she has to be good at something.” Barbara said softly. Diana was only half listening to them. Her eyes had drifted to Akko's legs, and she couldn't quite pull them away.

“Are you okay Diana?” Hannah asked softly.

“Pardon? Oh, yes, of course.” Diana replied, turning to look at Hannah. “I was just lost in thought. Shall we go and play a few more games?”

“Okay!” Barbara and Hannah replied together. They started heading back. Diana stole one more glance at Akko, before following them away. She would go and buy Akko pyjamas tonight. That was clearly essential now.

 

**\---LOTTE---**

 

Lotte groaned as she crawled out of bed. Drinks last night had been a mistake. A very, very big mistake. She hadn't even drunk that much. She fumbled for her glasses, and pulled them on, before picking up her phone to check the time. 1pm. Not that late. Their match wasn't until 6pm anyway. So they were well in the clear for time there. Her head was starting to feel better too. Now she just felt thirsty and stuffy. Nothing a shower and a glass of water or three wouldn't fix though.

Lotte stumbled out of bed, and hit at the table a few times, before finding her glasses. Once they were in place, and the world made sense again, she turned back to check on Sucy, who was also curled up in bed. Or at least, she should have been. Instead she sat on the far side of the room with her laptop open, looking fine.

“How long have you been up?” Lotte asked.

“Since about an hour after breakfast.” Sucy replied. “I wasn't feeling that bad anyway, but I didn't want to go to the event with just Akko.” Lotte grimaced.

“She's not that bad.” She said. She took a step back and leant on the door frame. Since their last talk about following Akko's lead in games, they hadn't talked about their team captain. Lotte wasn't actually sure how Sucy felt about her. For her part, Lotte had come around on Akko. Her initial worries had melted away once Sucy had suggested following Akko's dumb decisions. They didn't have to do it all that often, but that was largely because they rarely fell behind these days. Akko tended to win the lane whenever they laddered and so it was only the practice games that she really had to play from behind.

It was still a weakness, to be sure, but one that Akko was clearly working on. So Lotte didn't mind. Of the three of them, Akko was the best choice for captain, and Lotte was glad that Ursula had seen that. Despite that though, she didn't have high hopes yet. She knew that Akko would do great things. She knew she'd be part of that. But she also knew they weren't there yet. They weren't even close. What she didn't know, was how Sucy felt about Akko.

“You're kidding right?” Sucy asked, looking at her critically. Lotte shook her head.

“No. I think Akko's a great captain.” She replied. Sucy blinked.

“Oh, you mean like that.” She said, turning back to her computer. “Yeah, sure, she's a fine captain.”

“What were you talking about then?” Lotte asked, a small frown forming on her face.

“I meant how hyperactive she is. It drives me crazy.” Sucy answered. Lotte paused. She couldn't fault Sucy for that. Akko didn't notice it, but she was very...excitable. She had a bad habit of bouncing in her chair between games, and her voice was always a touch too loud. Lotte had eventually come to find those traits endearing, but they'd been annoying at first.

“I guess.” Lotte replied. “So...you think she's a good captain?”

“Good as either of us would be, sure.” Sucy answered. “I'll believe she's a good captain when we win something.” Lotte nodded. That was probably the best she'd get.

“Well. We should get out there soon. I'm going to go shower first.” She announced. Sucy just nodded in response, leaving Lotte to slip into the bathroom and shower. Once the water was running, she let her mind wander. It immediately went to the tournament, and thoughts of winning.

Lotte knew it was unrealistic to think of winning. She didn't believe for a second that she'd actually win the tournament. But deep down, she really wanted to. It would be like a fairy tale. Like a plot out of Night Fall. Volume 87, to be precise. But they wouldn't. If only because they'd meet the blue team again in the finals, and be knocked out again. It was rather fortunate that the tournament's structure happened to be so similar to the Witches Cup. They'd be meeting the green team in the semi-finals, and the blue team in the finals. Assuming all of Luna Nova won, of course. And odds were good they wouldn't. Lotte doubted they'd make it to the semi-finals. The quarters at least, that was possible. She could imagine that. And that would be enough, in her mind.

The fantasies ended with the shower, and once she was dry and dressed, Lotte made her way out into the bedroom again. She picked up her phone and opened up a conversation with Ursula.

 

_Lotte 1:27_

 

_Hi Coach! We're up and feeling better! What's the plan?_

 

_Ursula 1:29_

 

_Oh, sorry! I can come and pick you up if you like?_

 

_Lotte 1:29_

 

_We're just taking a bus right? We can come up by ourselves_

 

_Ursula 1:31_

 

_Are you sure? It's no problem._

 

_Lotte 1:32_

 

_I'm sure! Which bus is it?_

 

“Sucy, you don't mind if we take the bus alone right?” Lotte asked. Sucy shrugged.

“Why would I care?” She replied. Lotte nodded.

“Well, we should get going then.” She said, scooping up her laptop. Sucy nodded, and did the same. Lotte glanced down as her phone whistled one last time, with the directions from Ursula. “The next bus is in 15 minutes, so we should hurry a little.”

“Our game isn't until six.” Sucy grumbled, as she headed for the door.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, I'm not yet finished with the next chapter, but I'm getting back on top of things! Should only be a day or two of work and I'm *trying* to fit some in in the evenings, so by the weekend I can power out a ton more, and then I can be ahead once more. With luck. That said, ooooh boy this game is going to be a doozy. I cannot promise I will write the full best of three. I'll probably cop out again if I'm being perfectly honest. Hero profiles tomorrow because it's late and I'm lazy.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy! Comments much appreciated as always otherwise I'll assume that we all want a pivot to Akko-Constanze as the main ship.

**\---SUCY---**

 

Choosing new names had been a hassle. At least, Sucy had presented it as one. In truth, she was a bit grateful for the chance to change her name. MushroomMistress was old now, and she was fed up with it. She'd made it when she felt like it needed to be a name. After watching a bit more, she discovered just how strange names could be. But by then it was too late, and she couldn't reasonably afford to pay for a name change. So for playing in tournaments, she simplified it to just “Mushroom”. Lotte had also changed her name, moving to a much simpler “Spirits”. Sucy was not surprised to discover that Akko was still Akko.

Sucy felt uncomfortable with having this account. On her main account, she only had two skins, both gifted to her, and only the default four rune pages. She had plenty of runes unlocked, but she had to re-work them regularly to prepare for whatever characters she wanted to play that night. Here, she had every hero, every skin, and unlimited rune pages. She idly built out her rune pages, not really processing what she was doing.

The fact she was here was surreal, if Sucy was being honest. She'd applied to Luna Nova on a whim, not expecting to get accepted. She figured she might get to be picked up by a small Filipino team, but that was about as high as her hopes were. When she was accepted to Luna Nova, she'd been suspicious, more than anything. Good things like that didn't happen to her. But they were paying for her flight, and it was a better life, even if it didn't last.

So she took the opportunity, and flew to England. When she saw the state of the team, she understood why she'd been accepted. She was right to be suspicious after all. Sucy had concluded that the team was probably dead in the water. They'd practice a lot, talk big, try and make online qualifiers, but never make it to an event. And yet, despite that initial thought, she was here. At a live tournament. About to play in a few hours.

The few hours were gone too quickly. When it was time for their match, Sucy didn't feel remotely ready. But the event didn't care, and so she shuffled into the booth, and sat down to get set up. At least she was wearing the uniform hat. She wasn't sure why, but something about the hat made her feel safer. It was probably the way it was so big, and felt like it hid her identity a bit. So she wouldn't have to face the shame of their defeat.

“Sucy!” Akko's voice snapped Sucy out of her thoughts.

“What?” She snapped, glaring at Akko.

“Do you need help with your mouse and keyboard?” Akko asked her. Sucy looked at Akko in confusion for a second. Then she glanced at the computer in front of her. It didn't have a mouse and keyboard set up. Because she was supposed to plug hers in.

“No, I'm alright.” She grumbled, starting to plug things in.

“Okay! We're done with map bans. We're starting with Rastavan.” Akko explained.

“When did that happen?” Sucy asked.

“Just then? We asked you for an opinion.” Akko replied. Sucy didn't remember that.

“We asked if we should ban Tower. You said yes.” Lotte offered. Sucy vaguely remembered grunting an affirmative at a question.

“Okay. Do we have a plan?” Sucy asked. Akko nodded.

“I think we play to the dragons!” She declared. Sucy rolled her eyes.

“Of course you do.” She muttered. Like every map, Rastavan Ruins had a few gimmicks to set itself apart. For one thing, it's jungle was very malleable. The lanes had set walls, but half of the walls in the jungle could be knocked down with a channel. Large sections of the jungle required such a wall to be knocked down to be accessed. Walls eventually returned, so the jungle would be reset. It meant that each jungler could create the perfect route for themselves, and it was nearly impossible to sneak into the enemy jungle without leaving a trace.

The map objective was a flock of dragons, that would migrate around the jungle regions regularly. Each one killed granted the killing team some gold. When the last one was slain, the killing team retrieved the Sorcerer's Stone for two minutes. The Sorcerer's Stone granted the owning team cooldown reduction and huge mana regeneration, providing them with a massive advantage in sieges.

“We should pick a healer then.” Lotte suggested.

“Fallen Angel?” Akko asked.

“Her heal is weak.” Sucy remarked. “We could try Lightwarden.”

“I haven't practised Lightwarden.” Lotte said. “But...we could try it, I guess.”

“Okay!” Akko declared. “And Sucy, what do you want?”

“Crimson Lady.” Sucy replied instantly. “We can just out-sustain the enemy lane.”

“Now I need to decide what I'm playing.” Akko said, placing a hand to her chin to think.

“Moonlit Witch, right?” Sucy teased.

“I mean what build to use on her!” Akko snapped back.

“I think Sucy was just teasing you Akko.” Lotte said softly.

“Oh, right.” Akko replied. The conversation dried up, and the game invites came in. They all joined, and waited while the game loaded in. As always, Akko first picked Moonlit Witch. The enemy team opened up with a Loyal Defender pick. That left them to first pick.

“Lightwarden?” Akko asked.

“Um…” Lotte hesitated.

“Start with Crimson Lady. Even if we pick someone else, we'll want a healer.” Sucy said. Lotte was still unsure about the decision to gamble on Lightwarden. Sucy was confident Lotte could do it. She was a natural at support, and Lightwarden didn't seem particularly hard. She didn't even have that much in the way of pressure. She just had to survive the laning phase, and then keep them fuelled up during the siege stage of the game.

“Locking it in.” Akko announced, as she picked Crimson Lady. There was a short pause. Then the opponents locked in Fallen Angel and Sorrow Demon.

“That's mean.” Sucy remarked.

“Oh no.” Lotte whispered softly.

“Huh? What's mean? What did they do?” Akko asked.

“They're building around Sorrow Demon's E.” Sucy explained. Akko paused for a moment, before nodding.

“Right. What's the solution?” She asked. Lotte sighed.

“Pick Lightwarden.” She said, defeated.

 

**\---URSULA---**

 

“Why did she pick that?” Barbara asked. Ursula couldn't quite answer the question herself. Lightwarden was a common pick on this map, but Lotte hadn't played her at all. It was a total gamble that Lotte could handle the pressure. And yet, Ursula wasn't surprised. That was the kind of thing Akko would do. She'd just have to give them a talk between games if it failed.

“Talk to me Artosis, what do you think of these picks?” Tasteless asked.

“You know, I don't know what to think.” Artosis answered. “Okay so, the team composition for the Pogchamps is pretty self-explanatory, they want to pile on as much damage to Loyal Defender, and then sweep with Sorrow Demon. But Luna Nova red is a bit weirder. Crimson Lady and Lightwarden, that makes sense, it's a good, strong combo on this map. But the Moonlit Witch? I just don't know what to make of that pick.”

“Right. She doesn't typically get picked into compositions like this, but in an interview earlier, her team mates did say that she only played Moonlit Witch.” Tasteless picked up. “Which, just for those of you at home wondering, can be a viable tactic. Even for more rigid heroes, as it gives you a first pick that commits no information.”

“Having Moonlit Witch be that first pick is even better though, since there's no way for the enemy team to work out which build you'll be using on her. Which is why we're at a loss to make a prediction. We have no idea if it'll be a rod build, or a bow build, or maybe even something weird like a broom build.” Artosis replied. Ursula smiled a little.

“Don't they know single form builds suck?” Amanda asked.

“I imagine they might not.” Diana replied. “As I recall, it took a while to balance Akko's builds correctly.” Ursula nodded. It had been a painful night of careful math to get that to work, but it was worth it.

“That's right. There's a real chance very few people even know it's possible.” She added.

“Huh. Guess they're gonna know now.” Amanda declared.

“Alright, we have loaded into the map, now let's jump straight in and check what Akko is doing.” Tasteless declared. As requested, the camera jumped over to Akko. Ursula was surprised she wasn't using a skin. Everyone in a tournament used a skin. Well, except for her, but that was to match the cape and hat she'd had.

“Tasteless. I think I'm seeing something really cool here.” Artosis announced.

“Really Artosis? What's this cool thing you're seeing?” Tasteless replied, their voices getting silly.

“I'm seeing a Moonlit Witch with two forms here.” Artosis answered. Akko was using a build she'd derived from the original broom build they'd built for her. Ursula was actually quite impressed that she'd worked it out. She traded off a little bit of AP from her runes to get some CDR instead, enabling her to access both broom and hook forms. It was an early game build, meant to create a completely unique laning experience for the opponent that they were certain to have never practised for. It would then transition into a janky rod/hook mid-game, before stabilising into the generalist end game build Akko was so familiar with. Their team composition would give them some decent options in the siege at that point, though Akko would be crucial to either one.

She could provide support with her hook form, hiding nearby while Sucy advanced, looking for a chance to snatch Sorrow Demon out of position, and lock her down without any support. If Sorrow Demon was being too cautious however, they could use bow form to grind down the minions, and chip health off of the enemy heroes and slowly shave health off the tower until it died. The only concern was that Akko didn't have much practise with executing a siege. In practice, the green team usually played for the fights, and won on the back of those, while the blue team typically secured the objectives first, and were the ones sieging.

Ursula frowned a little as she thought about the situation longer. In theory, they were in a strong position, but they weren't well practised in anything they needed to do. Which brought her back to the question that started the whole thought process. Why did she pick Lightwarden?

 

**\---LOTTE---**

 

Lotte stared at her skills uncertainly. She had no idea what to level first. Lightwarden was a strange character. Her Q was a pulse heal, low cooldown, low mana cost, low healing in an AOE around her. It was good for keeping up lane sustain, but not useful in fights. Her W was the opposite. It gifted a significant portion of her health to her ally, healing them for the same amount. It could even create a shield, which would be useful for Crimson Lady and her abilities which cost health. Both were good abilities, depending on what they needed in lane.

The only problem was Lotte had no idea what they would need. She didn't know how Lightwarden played. With her other heroes, she knew what her job in lane would be. She wasn't so sure here. Was she lane sustain? A fighting support? She certainly wasn't a tank.

“Sucy, what should I level first?” Lotte asked finally. When in doubt, ask what your carry wants.

“Q.” Sucy replied.

“Got it. And then I just hang back?” Lotte asked.

“For now, yeah.” Sucy answered. Lotte nodded. That should be easy enough. They headed out into lane, and settled in under their tower. This was a fairly passive pair up, so picking a level 1 fight would be a mistake.

“Should I go for a full healing build?”

“Maybe.” Sucy answered. Lotte frowned. That wasn't very helpful. But it probably would be best to wait and see what the game looked like before she decided anything. They waited for the minions to spawn, and head into lane, before following them forward. They immediately ran into their opponents. The duo lane was Sorrow Demon and Loyal Defender. That made sense, Fallen Angel was capable of building more like a mage than a support if needed. Loyal Defender had no business doing anything but supporting.

“What's our plan?” Lotte asked softly.

“CS, ignore them.” Sucy answered. “I'll poke at Sorrow Demon if they get aggressive.”

“Got it.” Lotte replied. She pulled back to hang behind Sucy, soaking experience, and letting her set the pace. She was keeping to her word, totally ignoring Loyal Defender as she weaved through the minions, trying to get in the way. When Loyal Defender took swings at her, Sucy would step forward, and activate Crimson Lady's Q, sapping life from Sorrow Demon and healing herself, before throwing an attack or two, forcing Sorrow Demon back. It was clear she hadn't planned for this, as her damage was low.

Lotte and Sucy had done this lane tens of times. They knew how it played. You go low damage on Sorrow Demon and skill her E first. Then you get Loyal Defender in their face being loud and annoying. Look like you messed up, take too much damage, and then watch the enemy panic as the shield swings the tide back and Sorrow Demon is chunking you for too much damage. And once they fall back, you CS with your bloated damage numbers.

But when they ignored Loyal Defender, Sorrow Demon couldn't do much. Normally this wasn't a problem, as Loyal Defender would just keep being annoying. Lotte had gotten a kill just by chipping them down too long with Loyal Defender. By the time they realised they were in danger, she could shove them away from safety, and Sucy would collapse on them.

But with the healing available in this lane, there was no chance of that happening. The enemy quickly seemed to realise that, as they shifted tactics drastically. Loyal Defender pushed even further forward, and started wailing on Lotte. Her damage wasn't so bad, except for the fact Lotte could hardly retaliate. The range on Sorrow Demon's Punishment was far enough that she could still gain stacks if Lotte fought back.

So she did the only thing she could. She pulled back under the tower. Loyal Defender chased her under it for a single attack, before pulling back. The tower shot back, but she tanked it on her shield. Even that would give Sorrow Demon some Punishment stacks though.

“Sorry, there's not a lot I can do here.” Lotte apologised.

“We'll manage.” Sucy replied, deadpan as ever. Lotte sighed internally. Sometimes, she wished Sucy would emote a little more in games. Just so she could know where they were at. Akko wore her heart on her sleeve, and it was great. Lotte never had any doubts about how Akko's lane was going. Speaking of which.

“Akko, how are you doing?” Lotte asked.

“Good!” Akko replied. There was a faint strain in her voice. She wasn't exactly struggling, but Fallen Angel was taxing her. Lotte could see how that might be the case. Akko didn't practise against supports often, and Fallen Angel's harass was also her sustain. Plus, Akko's build was meant for decisive fights, not for the silly skirmishes that she'd be getting into with Fallen Angel. Lotte returned her focus to the lane. Sucy had just hit level 2. A second later, Sorrow Demon and Loyal Defender did too. But Lotte was still only level 1. Then it clicked. Under tower meant she was out of experience range of the ranged creeps. She must've missed one or two of them. Sure enough, another melee creep fell, and she hit level 2. But something became clear. If the lane didn't change soon, she'd be falling behind on experience by a lot.

Lotte sighed. It couldn't be helped. Besides, she was the support. She was supposed to fall behind a bit. She'd live, she was sure. Perhaps she could go and gank for Akko, and catch up like that. Or she could wait until Loyal Defender pulled away, and then move forward. That shouldn't take all that long.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko did not like Fallen Angel at all. She was too slippery. She'd land a hook, and then Fallen Angel would just fly up into the sky and get away. At least the lane itself was easy. Since she defaulted to broom form, she could pump her attack damage to secure last hits, and apart from the harass, Fallen Angel couldn't keep up in terms of pure right click potential.

By level 4 she was firmly ahead in CS, and everything was going exactly according to plan. Well, what little plan there was. She hadn't landed a kill yet, but that was okay. Simply owning the lane was enough for now. Honestly, it was enough for the whole game. Fallen Angel was just a support. If they had two carries against one, and they were all farmed enough, it was a perfectly fine situation to be in. She just had to keep that going. It was going so well in fact, she had Fallen Angel pushed under tower.

“Akko, LD is MIA.” Lotte announced. Akko took a second to unpack the words. Loyal Defender is missing in action. Which should mean that she was coming for a gank. Which meant that Akko was too far forward. Akko turned, and started running for her tower. Fallen Angel was immediately on her heels. Akko swapped to AP, and activated her W, dropping a trail of magic behind her. It was frustrating that this build neglected levels in E early. It was an escape and initiation tool. Akko needed to do neither in an ideal world, so she ignored it.

Unfortunately, Fallen Angel didn't step in the trail. She activated her own E, and jumped into the air, gliding over Akko, and slowing her drastically. Loyal Defender slipped into the lane from behind, near Akko's tower, and she cursed softly. This kept happening to her. Fallen Angel landed, and started laying into her. It wouldn't be enough to kill however. And Loyal Defender wasn't going to get to her before she reached the tower.

Loyal Defender ran under the tower. She tanked the first hit on her health, and got in front of Akko, smacking her back with her shield. Fallen Angel fired off her W. It was enough to secure the kill. Akko threw up her hands in frustration. Loyal Defender had gone deep for it though. Hopefully the tower would get her. Towers applied armour shred as well, so each hit did successively more damage. Akko watched two hit her, dropping Loyal Defender low. The last one would kill her. It fired, and she stepped out of range. But it'd still hit her, and secure the kill.

Loyal Defender activated her shield. The whole thing was destroyed by the tower hit. But none of her health went down.

“What! Bullshit!” Akko exclaimed.

“What happened?” Sucy asked, sounding a little annoyed.

“LD should've died to that tower hit, but it only took her shield.” Akko explained.

“LD's shield prevents her taking HP damage in the same damage instance Akko.” Lotte said softly. Akko frowned.

“That's stupid.” She grumbled.

 

The wait to respawn was usually the worst part of dying. Thankfully the early game wasn't so bad. By the time she'd finished buying her items, and building up her move speed even more, she only had a few seconds to wait before she respawned. Once she was back, she set off for the jungle.

“I'm gonna gank them.” Akko declared.

“Akko, please don't.” Lotte said softly.

“The lane is going fine.” Sucy added.

“It'll go better once I gank it though!” Akko replied. Sucy sighed. Akko wasn't sure why they were against this. She'd been ganked. Now she ganks them back, and it all evens out. Except she'd secure two kills in the gank, so they'd be ahead. Perfect plan.

Akko simply dashed over the wall that led into their side of the jungle. She'd have to knock down one wall to pull it off, but that wasn't such a delay. The rest of the path she could follow with only minor detours. She arrived at the end of their jungle, where a small, neutral zone rested. She removed the wall there, and slipped into the neutral area. It was basically tradition at this point that each lane should have a small area of bush square in the middle of the lane. It was a crowd favourite when teams would three stack in the bush at the beginning and go for a gank. It didn't happen much any more, since it had become so popular that teams stopped falling for it.

On Rastavan, that bush was placed next to a small wall between it and the neutral jungle. It was blinkable, or to a Moonlit Witch in broom form, dashable. And Akko did just that, dashing with her Q into the bush. She immediately swapped to hook form, and looked around at the lane.

Sorrow Demon and Loyal Defender were pushed fairly far forward. Loyal Defender was being especially bold, but Sorrow Demon was still behind her minions. Loyal Defender had just pulled aggro from their creeps and used it to shove the lane forward awkwardly. It seemed to be an attempt at pushing, and it was working. Lotte was deep under tower, hiding from the danger Loyal Defender posed, and Sucy wasn't standing much better. By Akko's guess, their lane wasn't going nearly as well as she'd been told. But she could fix that.

“I'm gonna get Sorrow Demon!” Akko boldly declared.

“Don't g-” Lotte began to cry out. Akko didn't have time to process the words before she'd fired her hook. It hit Sorrow Demon, and she was whisked away. “Oh no...” Lotte said softly.

 

**\---SUCY---**

 

Akko had to go and do it. She had to gank. Despite being told by both of them not to. She just had to come and gank their damn lane. The lane was fine. More than fine, in fact. Loyal Defender was being forced to tank creeps just to give Sorrow Demon any form of damage. And with her tanking the creeps, they were going under the tower at consistent health values. Sucy could easily prime every creep for easy last hitting under tower. And the best part of that was it meant Lotte got experience again. And then Akko ruined it. Sorrow Demon's Punishment stacks weren't the highest they could be, but they were high enough she'd demolish Akko on this build.

“Fucking idiot.” Sucy muttered. “We're going in.” She raised her voice so Lotte could hear her. If Akko was going to do something stupid, Sucy wasn't going to let the enemy take it for free. They'd discussed doing this in the Witches Cup, but ultimately everyone else had been so easy it wasn't a concern.

“O-okay!” Lotte replied uncertainly. Sucy threw her W at Sorrow Demon. Crimson Lady turned into a swarm of bats, and surged forward, passing over Sorrow Demon and dealing damage, before turning back immediately after passing. Akko had at least had the good sense to root Sorrow Demon. She immediately swapped back to broom form, and dashed over Sorrow Demon, before spewing her magic trail across the lane. She was smart enough to stutter step it at least.

For her part, Sucy stood and fought with Sorrow Demon, going blow for blow. It was a losing fight. Sucy activated her Q, stealing some health from Sorrow Demon. Lotte was trying to come and join the fight, but Loyal Defender was doing a good job of keeping her back. A green effect on Sorrow Demon caught Sucy's eye. Her health had gone up. Sucy tapped tab quickly to confirm.

Sorrow Demon had picked up lifesteal. That was probably it. Sucy was fucked. She couldn't race down Sorrow Demon with lifesteal. Her W was still on cooldown, and she was likely going to die before it came back. At least she'd get Sorrow Demon low. Maybe the others could secure the kill.

“Sucy, I'm coming.” Lotte announced. Sucy glanced down, and saw that to her surprise, Lotte was simply walking past Loyal Defender, and taking a decent amount of damage in the process. She threw out her W onto Sucy, followed by a Q. It wasn't much health, but it was enough. Sucy traded two more attacks, slowly respositioning herself with each one. Then she fired her W over Sorrow Demon, and across the wall into the jungle. As soon as it was on the other side, Sucy tapped W again, and jumped across. She was safe.

Lotte was running to safety too. Loyal Defender couldn't do enough damage over her Q to stop her. If Sorrow Demon turned on her though, she wouldn't last. But Sorrow Demon had set her sights on Akko, who was currently...pinned between the enemy and their tower. Sucy sighed.

“Akko, what the fuck are you doing?” She demanded.

“Sshh, I've got a plan.” Akko replied. Sucy rolled her eyes, and watched. Sorrow Demon advanced on Akko quickly. Akko fled, right under the tower.

“What, you're going to suicide instead of giving her the kill?” Sucy asked. Committing with Akko had been a mistake, clearly. Sorrow Demon was chasing right behind her. She'd get the proximity gold and experience, and the deny wouldn't mean anything. Sucy paused. Sorrow Demon was chasing RIGHT behind Akko. Who was spewing a damage over time trail as she fled. Sucy glanced at Sorrow Demon's health.

“No way.” She murmured.

 

**Akko has slain FrankerZ**

 

“I did it!” Akko declared. This was immediately followed by a prideful laugh. She immediately changed course, running to the nearest wall and dashing over it to escape. The laughter was interspersed with the occasional whoop. Sucy had learned to block those out in practice. They'd died down over the Witches Cup, but it seemed the nerves had passed, and Akko was back to her annoying self.

“Lotte.” Sucy said. “Let's get LD.”

“Okay.” Lotte agreed. She'd been chased back under the tower, but Loyal Defender was already weak from tanking the minions. Even with them a bit weak, they could easily secure the kill. Sucy threw her W back over one last time, and jumped into the lane behind Loyal Defender. Lotte rushed forward, and they sandwiched the enemy, before quickly demolishing her.

“Hey Akko.” Sucy said.

“Huh? What is it Sucy?” Akko replied.

“Good job. Thanks.” Sucy answered. She could hear the grin spreading on Akko's face. She'd be hearing about this later, she just knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hero Profile for Light Warden  
> Roles: Support, Durable, Disabler, Initiator
> 
> Beacon of Hope(Passive): Lightwarden shines as a beacon of hope to all allies around her, spurring them on to greatness. Allies within a short radius of Lightwarden deal bonus magic damage on their attacks.
> 
> Heart of the World(Q): Lightwarden draws on the power of the world itself, tapping into a single heartbeat and drawing strength from it, healing herself and all allies around her.  
> Sacrifice(W): Lightwarden sacrifices a portion of her own life, gifting it to an all. Sacrifice takes health from Lightwarden, and heals the target by the same amount.  
> Censure(E): Lightwarden pulls in the power of the light around her and her allies. All enemies who attack Lightwarden of an allied hero within a short radius of her are slowed, and take a small amount of magic damage over time.  
> Moment of Serenity(R): Lightwarden creates a moment of peace in a small area. All units within the area cannot leave, and cannot deal damage, or take damage, for a short duration.
> 
> Hero Profile for Crimson Lady  
> Roles: Carry, Durable, Initiator
> 
> Sanguine Embrace(Passive): Crimson Lady's health and mana are intrinsically linked. When she gains health, she gains mana equal to the health gained.
> 
> Exsanguinate(Q): Crimson Lady rips blood from her target, dealing damage, and healing herself for the same amount.  
> Bat Swarm(W): Crimson Lady summons a swarm of bats, and that rush forward, dealing damage to all enemies they pass through. Before the bats expire, Bat Swarm can be cast again to teleport Crimson Lady to the swarms location.  
> Thickening Blood(E): Every time Crimson Lady gets a kill or an assist, she gains a stack of Thickened Blood. Each stack of Thickened Blood gives her increased health regen, maximum health and maximum mana. Thickened Blood stacks are gained even if Crimson Lady does not have the skill levelled.  
> Feast of Blood(R): Crimson Lady begins to feast on the blood of all around her, draining it from the bodies of all enemies around her. She deals damage to every enemy within a short range of her, healing herself for the same amount. This ability can be toggled, and drains large amounts of mana each second.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! A longer chapter for you all! Why is it longer? Because I got about 1500 words into the next chapter and went. "Oh, this fits so much better at the end of the last chapter." So I added it in. As a side effect, I've got...much less prepared than I would like. BUT! I have a plan! Next update is going to be a short interlude chapter to give you all a little more insight into our beloved Chariot, her past, and what went HORRIBLY WRONG.
> 
> Also, thanks to everyone who commented on the last one! It does wonders for refilling my motivation to keep it up. And maybe if you all comment hard enough I'll start actually posting hero profiles when I said I would, and not ten minutes before the update. They're now there by the way, go back and check them if you want some context on Crimson Lady and Lightwarden.

**\---DIANA---**

 

Diana could practically hear the crows of victory from Akko as she escaped from the successful gank. Despite her plan being reckless beyond belief, and totally devoid of any practical merit at this point in the game, they'd been rewarded for it. Diana knew full well Akko wouldn't process what she'd done wrong there. She'd simply view the results, and call it a victory.

“What a gank!” Tasteless was saying. “I'm getting nerd chills here Artosis. That was so sick.” The casters praising it wouldn't help. Akko would watch the vods and see that she was praised, and assume she'd done something good. The move probably had won her some fans too, which would make it even worse.

“Tell me about it Tasteless. Honestly this whole build from Akko is sick. I'm not sure if I'd call it good, but it's definitely sick.” Artosis agreed. Diana smirked. She was inclined to agree. The build was impressive, and it had gotten her the first time they'd laned. But once she worked out the trick to it, it became clear where it's many weaknesses lay, and she could easily defeat it. For Akko's sake, she'd started pretending she didn't know what to do, and making the plays that her initial thoughts told her would be best. Akko needed to keep the majority of her tech secret, so they couldn't practice on the ladder, and most players wouldn't know how to respond. So Diana pretended to be one of those to give Akko the most appropriate practice. She wouldn't keep it up after this tournament however.

While Akko recalled, and returned to her lane, the camera focused on Sucy and Lotte, who were shoving their lane out hard. Fallen Angel had been doing something similar in the top lane, but as a support, she was naturally less effective at it. Sucy however packed a punch, and with Lotte to help, they worked down the minion wave quickly, Lotte working to prime last hits for Sucy to ensure the haste didn't cost her gold. They got the minions cleared, and began working on the tower.

Sucy moved aggressively, walking around behind the tower, and positioning herself so she could see anyone coming up the lane. Diana nodded slowly. Though she didn't often get credit for it, Sucy was a very smart player. Akko tended to make the bold, crazy plays however, and so like so many assassins before her, she got the spotlight, when the carry was the one doing a lot of the heavy lifting. By positioning herself there, Sucy could immediately bully Sorrow Demon out of lane when she returned.

To Diana's dismay, the action cut back to Akko's lane as she returned. The kill had given Akko another level, and she'd thrown a point into her E to get herself back quickly. She landed square on Fallen Angel, dealing a decent amount of damage. She immediately activated the trail, and dashed to get behind Fallen Angel. Diana rolled her eyes. Of course Akko would immediately go for another kill. She was far too impatient to wait for a good opening, or play the lane normally.

Predictably, Fallen Angel immediately jumped away with her E. Akko swapped to hook form however, and Diana noticed something. Akko had carefully dashed out of the minion wave. Fallen Angel hadn't noticed however, as she hard retreated for her tower. She began to drop from the invulnerability, and Akko fired off her hook. It connected, whisking Fallen Angel back to Akko. She was immediately rooted by Akko's W.

Akko swapped back to broom form, and got in front of Fallen Angel, dropping her trail as she stutter stepped towards the tower, making an awkward area of death for Fallen Angel to navigate. The fight didn't last long. Fallen Angel got Akko as best she could, dropping her to about half health before Akko secured the kill. A small camera window popped up in the corner, showing Akko in the booth, throwing her hands up in triumph, and laughing. Diana sighed.

“I think I'll give the uniform a miss tomorrow...” Hannah remarked softly. “I don't want people associating me with that.”

“Tell me about it.” Barbara agreed.

“Let's wait and see how she interviews.” Diana suggested cautiously. She wasn't confident it'd get better.

“That leaves both of the lanes clear for Luna Nova to shove them out.” Tasteless explained, as their hype over the kill died down.

“Hold that thought Tasteless, we've got Sorrow Demon returning to the lane. Maybe she can make something happen under tower.” Artosis declared. Diana let out a soft sigh of relief. She wouldn't miss Sucy's fight.

The camera jumped down to where Sorrow Demon was approaching the lane. Sucy reacted the moment Sorrow Demon left the defence of her second tower. Sucy fired off a swarm of bats which crossed over Sorrow Demon, and appeared right behind her, in the narrow safe spot between the towers. That position left Sorrow Demon with three choices. Stand a fight toe-to-toe, except Sucy was stronger, and had heals available from Lotte, so she'd lose that fight for sure. Flee around Sucy, back to the tower. That would give Sucy too much free damage, and she'd easily dive for the kill.

Sorrow Demon took the last option. She ran under the first tower, stutter stepping back to hit Sucy as she did. Sucy attacked her as she went, but with the lifesteal, Sorrow Demon wasn't going to die in this fight. Sucy hit her Q, but even that wasn't enough to put Sorrow Demon in danger. She'd have to dive for the kill if she wanted it. Diana glanced across the others. Hannah and Barbara didn't look particularly engaged. Ursula however was watching with baited breath. Diana looked back at the screen. Sucy's move was impressive, but there wasn't a way to transition it into a kill from here. They'd have to pull back from this position soon. The damage they'd hit Sorrow Demon with was enough to keep the pressure up. So what did Ursula see that Diana missed?

Then Lotte joined the fight. A small hissed “Yes” came from Ursula. Diana suddenly felt very stupid. The tower aggroed onto Lotte, leaving Sucy free to advance under it, and continue to lay into Sorrow Demon. For her part, Lotte retreated back to the edge of the tower's range, where she danced back and forth, spamming her Q to keep her health up as she tanked tower hits. Sorrow Demon pushed to get Lotte, ignoring Sucy as she laid into her. That might have been a mistake, Diana realised. Lotte would have to leave Sucy to the tower sooner or later. If Sorrow Demon went blow for blow with Sucy, her lifesteal might be enough to endure until the tower got to Sucy.

Without any lifesteal coming in however, she was doomed. Sucy fired her bats across Sorrow Demon once more, getting between her and Lotte. Lotte immediately pulled back, stepping out of the tower's range as the last hit connected, dropping her very low. Sucy was left to tank the tower, but Sorrow Demon was so low, the tower only landed one hit.

 

**Mushroom has slain FrankerZ**

 

“Good girls.” Ursula let out a relieved sigh.

“That was okay I guess.” Barbara grumbled.

 

**\---LOTTE---**

 

Despite the game going so well, Lotte still didn't feel very comfortable with what she was doing. Lightwarden still hadn't quite clicked in her head. She understood what she was doing, and it was easy to follow Sucy's requests, but she couldn't shake the feeling there was some hidden depth she was missing. Which Lotte knew was stupid. Some heroes were just what they appeared to be. But she couldn't shake that feeling. It was getting in her head too. She tried to think of what to build, but all of the items just vanished in her mind when she tried to imagine what she needed.

She stared at the shop as her health recovered from the previous fight.

“What should I buy?” She asked, not really speaking to anyone.

“Chalice.” Sucy replied immediately. “That's what I'm building.” Lotte blinked. Of course she should build the Holy Chalice. It was THE healing item. She couldn't buy it outright, it was an expensive item, but she could afford the Trinity Locket, the most expensive item that built into Chalice. It also gave her a hefty amount of mana regen, so she'd be that much more useful in a fight.

“What's our next plan Akko?” Sucy asked. The kills had put them massively ahead as a team. In a ladder game, they'd just mellow out for a bit, keep pushing the lanes out and let the game naturally advance until the laning phase was over. But this wasn't a ladder game, and they couldn't afford to relax like that.

“Um...dragons?” Akko suggested.

“Do we know where they are?” Sucy asked. Akko paused.

“No.” She admitted.

“How about we clear a path in the jungle and ward it up so we can find them?” Lotte suggested. She immediately bought a stack of wards, and a single observation balloon. Balloons were the less popular alternative to wards. Unlike wards, they didn't cloak, so they could easily be killed. The benefit was that they provided flying vision, which made them ideal for securing vision in the dense jungles, where they could be hidden behind several walls.

“Alright! Let's do it!” Akko replied. Lotte glanced at the map, and saw Akko pulling away from the lane to start clearing out rubble.

“You should shove out your lane first.” Sucy told her. Akko ignored her.

“Do you think we can take dragons in one go?” She asked instead.

“I don't think so.” Lotte replied. “We can probably get half of them though.”

“Alright! And then we just find the other half! It'll be easy!” Akko exclaimed. Lotte and Sucy both sighed. Nothing was as easy as Akko made it out to be. They headed down into the jungle and joined her in cleaning out a pathway between their two lanes. Lotte threw her balloon over a wall, where it wasn't in the natural path of anyone using the way they'd made, but gave total vision of their jungle. No dragons. Lotte could hear the pout on Akko's face. She glanced over to confirm. It looked exactly how she imagined it would.

“Okay! Let's go invade their jungle!” Akko announced.

“Do we have to? We'll know when the flock comes back.” Sucy asked.

“What if they get it first?” Akko demanded. “We've gotta get started now.”

“There's no way they could kill them all first.” Sucy muttered. Once again, Akko ignored her, and set off for the enemy jungle. Lotte glanced across at Sucy. Sucy glanced back. Their eyes locked, and Lotte shrugged. Akko got like this sometimes, and they weren't going to talk her out of it. All they could do was follow along, and hope for the best. Then Akko swapped to broom form, and activated her E, propelling herself into the enemy jungle.

“Oh no...” Lotte murmured to herself.

 

**\---URSULA---**

 

Ursula gently placed a hand to her face as she watched Akko dive blindly into the jungle. She understood why she did it. In her glory days, Shiny Chariot was well known for making wild dives into the jungle to find picks, or get into strange positions to flank her enemies. What Akko didn't know was the literal hours that had been spent pouring over replays with fog on, and guessing where the enemy was, before turning fog back off, and seeing how close it had been. For the first month, the answer was often “Not at all.” There was also a lot of “Actually that one person was three.”

Eventually, she'd picked up the trick to it, but getting there had been gruelling, and cost her a few ladder games when she got it wrong. The end result had been worth it for the impact it could have, as well as the way it dazzled fans. It also won her a lot of ire. Whenever something flashy would happen at an event, there was inevitably a horde of unqualified copycats trying to pull the same cool trick they saw the pros do. And every time it happened, there'd be an equally opinionated horde blaming the pro, and not the people doing it. And it seemed that even ten years later, her legacy was still causing problems.

Akko, thankfully, didn't land in the middle of the enemy team. She just landed very close to them, where they were clearing out some of the dragon swarm. After the last kill, they'd all started heading out, making use of flash powder to jump the base wall and get out into the jungle quickly. In a normal situation, Ursula would be cheering for Akko's move. There was only one wall that actually needed to be knocked down to catch up to her, and Akko was capable of stalling out a 1v3 fight to get help.

But the enemy team had been fighting dragons already. With Sorrow Demon in their line up. Loyal Defender had tanked a lot of damage on her shield, as well as on her HP. Even with Fallen Angel healing her, she was down to half health. The result was that Sorrow Demon had picked up a lot of Punishment stacks.

Ursula caught her breath as Akko advanced, walking around the corner, and seeing the whole team. She immediately dashed away, but it was too late. They'd seen her. This was about to break into a team fight.

“What an idiot.” Hannah muttered.

“Why the fuck would you jump out like that?” Barbara asked. “You're not Shiny Chariot.” She raised her voice slightly as she called this out.

“Barbara, please keep your voice down.” Diana said sternly. “We're representing Luna Nova, please act like it.”

“Sorry Diana.” Barbara replied meekly. “But like, she's not.” Ursula nodded slightly. Barbara wasn't wrong. She just hoped Akko would learn that lesson sooner than later.

 

**\---SUCY---**

 

Sucy could not believe Akko just did that. Actually, she could. It was exactly the kind of stupid, reckless decision her captain would make. Lotte was knocking down the wall to get them over there to help out. They were lucky, at least, that Sorrow Demon had been decently far away from Akko. Fallen Angel had dived in, and managed to slow down Akko, but Sorrow Demon hadn't yet joined the fight. They'd be in real trouble when she did.

“Lotte! I'm counting on you!” Akko declared. Sucy groaned, as she watched Akko swap to hook form, and fire the hook at the approaching Sorrow Demon. Still, she said she'd go in when Akko did dumb things. So she fired off the bats at Sorrow Demon, who was now rooted. If they secured this kill at least, they could probably come out still ahead. Sorrow Demon hit Akko, and a large chunk of her health vanished. Sucy was having her doubts if they could do this.

“Focus Sorrow Demon.” Sucy called.

“Got it!” Akko replied. She at least had the good sense to swap to AD for what little benefit it would give her. It also put her back in broom form, allowing Akko to drop the trail on the spot. Without moving, it didn't spread far, but Sorrow Demon was currently standing in it. Despite that, getting her health down was rough. Sucy and Akko combined could keep pace with her damage on Akko, but the lifesteal meant that her life was creeping back up, while Akko's kept dropping. Lotte arrived in time to throw her W and Q out, but it only bought them one more hit, before Akko died.

 

**FrankerZ has slain Akko**

 

Even still, Sorrow Demon was low now. There was hope. Sorrow Demon hit Sucy, and her health dropped fast. Sucy activated her Q, stealing some health back. She did a quick guess on the fight. She should barely survive fighting Sorrow Demon, and then be able to escape. Hopefully. Loyal Defender and Fallen Angel were moving to bully Lotte, probably ensuring she couldn't escape. That was a mistake. They must think Sucy was doomed. To be fair, it was usually a safe bet. Sucy and Sorrow Demon traded one more set of attacks. The next auto attack from Sorrow Demon would secure the kill. Sucy's bats came off cooldown, and she fired them. The damage, coupled with one last auto was enough to kill Sorrow Demon.

 

**Mushroom has slain FrankerZ**

 

Sucy tapped W again, and jumped over to where Lotte was trying to fend off the two other supports. Lotte was spamming her Q, and Sucy got hit by the heal. Good timing too, as Fallen Angel threw her own W onto Sucy, massively draining her health. She wasn't making it out of this alive. The best she could do was make the trade fairly even.

“Focus Loyal Defender.” Sucy instructed. She was still low from fighting the dragons. They could at least secure that kill. Unfortunately her Q was still on cooldown. Both Loyal Defender and Fallen Angel were focusing her too. She didn't last long.

 

**LordHelix has slain Mushroom**

**Spirits has slain Kappa**

 

Sucy leaned back in her chair, and sighed hard. Well, it wasn't a total wash at least. If Lotte escaped, they'd have gone even, and neither side could secure an objective.

 

**LordHelix has slain Spirits**

 

**\---** **URSULA---**

 

Ursula found herself cringing at the game in front of her. The girls had been doing great, until that fight. It was good that Lotte and Sucy had followed Akko in, but it was the wrong call. Sometimes the best choice was to leave your team mate to die to their own mistakes, and try to make something happen. The flock had been weakened, and though they probably hadn't noticed it, it had moved back to their jungle. If Sucy and Lotte were alive, they could quite safely take the flock, with vision to warn them of the enemy approaching. Instead they were all dead. Thankfully Fallen Angel couldn't do much alone. She was pushing out a lane, but that was the best she could do.

“What the fuck was that Akko?” Amanda demanded, gesturing at the screen angrily.

“Stupid and reckless, that's what.” Hannah replied. “Not that I'd expect any better from her.” Amanda didn't jump to Akko's defence like she usually did. Ursula couldn't blame her. What Akko did was indefensible.

“I almost hope she loses here.” Barbara added. “So she doesn't embarrass Luna Nova any further.”

“That wouldn't be ideal.” Ursula said. “Besides, one mistake this early won't cost them the game, and they were ahead. It's...not good, but it could be much worse.” Akko could, for instance, immediately pick another losing fight. And since she was now respawning, that could be what she was about to do.

“Hey Arty.” Tasteless interrupted an unrelated topic Artosis had been chatting about while nothing happened. “Why is there a courier hanging out in the top lane?” On the cue, the camera jumped to the top lane, where the Luna Nova courier was sitting. The spectator clicked on it, and revealed a sage's cap on it.

“I have no idea. That is weird.” Artosis replied. “It looks like Akko placed it there, but I'm not too sure why.” A moment later, Akko landed beside the courier, having jumped with her E. She immediately picked up the sage's cap off the courier, spiking her AP and switching her to rod form as a result.

“Oh!” Tasteless exclaimed. “That's so cool. Okay, so for those of you confused, Akko sent the courier out ahead of her, so she could keep the mobility of broom form to get back to her lane, and then immediately swap forms to do what she wants.”

“That is so sick. You know, I had some doubts, especially after the last fight, but seeing how Akko builds Moonlit Witch, yeah, this girl gets it.” Artosis replied.

“Alright Artosis, gun to your head, is Akko the next Shiny Chariot?” Tasteless asked.

“Oh man, don't make me pick like this right now.” Artosis said.

“Gun to your head! I'm gonna shoot!” Tasteless' volume picked up.

“Oh, uh, okay. Uh.” Artosis stammered for a moment.

“I'll do it! Don't you make me!” Tasteless continued.

“Yes! I want to say yes!” Artosis replied finally. Tasteless let out a sigh, and the tow laughed.

“You know, I don't think you're wrong. I don't think you're right either. But you know, I'm getting some early Chariot vibes here.” Ursula sucked on her teeth as she heard this. She hoped Akko wouldn't be the next Shiny Chariot. For her sake, if nothing else.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Something had gone wrong in that last fight. Akko wasn't too sure what. Well, she knew what went wrong, she'd landed next to the whole team. She didn't understand why it had gone so wrong though. She'd watched every single match Chariot had ever played. She'd memorised most of them. And she knew that Chariot would make a jump like that almost every time. So why had she been wrong?

She wanted to dive onto Fallen Angel immediately, and pick another fight, but Sucy had glared at her when she said this. She'd looked to Lotte, but she had seemed equally displeased with the idea. So begrudgingly Akko went to the top lane instead. Fallen Angel was pushing their bottom tower. She'd get it before Sucy and Lotte could get back out. The best they could hope for would be for Akko to pick up the top tower as well. There was a big wave from both sides gathered, which was ideal.

Akko blasted the enemy wave with her E, before settling into focusing on picking out the last hits. The lane advanced quickly, and soon Akko found herself with a large chunk of gold, and a wave pushing up to the tower. She joined in, chipping away at it. She'd made a lot of progress on the tower before the fight had broken out, and she could probably get it soon. Sucy had done a lot on her tower too. There was a very real chance of them sweeping both first towers in one go. Then Sorrow Demon and Loyal Defender showed up to ruin her plans.

Akko glanced at the health on the tower. It was going down, no matter what. The question was whether or not the enemy would get the deny on it. Akko didn't understand denial mechanics. When Chariot played, people could kill minions on their own team if they were low enough in health, lowering the experience the enemy got and denying them the chance to get gold from it. That ended up being removed as the years went on. But towers and heroes could still be denied in much the same way. A denied hero was worth nothing to the enemy team, and denied towers were worth drastically less gold.

Sorrow Demon was the main threat. She was ranged, and would be building AD. So Akko threw her W on her, turning her into a harmless squirrel. That would buy her a little bit of time at least. She turned her focus to the tower, stutter stepping around as she fired at it, trying to line things up correctly. Loyal Defender was advancing on her quickly. That was...actually rather convenient for Akko's plan though. She got the line up right, Loyal Defender in front of her, with Sorrow Demon directly behind her, and fired her Q. The bolt of magic hit Loyal Defender, chunking her for a lot of her health, and sending her backwards. She collided with Sorrow Demon, and the two were stunned. Akko threw a final attack at the tower, securing the last hit on it.

“I did it!” Akko declared, laughing as she turned and started fleeing.

“Great job.” Sucy muttered. “Now what?”

“Dragons?” Lotte suggested. “They're on our side of the jungle.”

“Let's do it!” Akko agreed, turning towards the jungle. Loyal Defender and Sorrow Demon hadn't bothered to chase her. Even so, she'd flipped herself over to move speed, just to be safe. Even without access to broom form, the way the build started meant she was quick. She was presently 2 move speed shy of the required amount to activate broom form. They'd played around with builds to get her the increase needed to push her up high enough when she switched to move speed enhancement, but nothing had worked out. Every item had too much move speed, and kept her stuck in broom form instead.

Akko arrived at the dragons shortly after Lotte and Sucy. They'd started without her, and Akko got stuck in too, throwing spells at burning mana hard to get them down. It was worth it, since they'd have enough regen with the stone to make up the mana loss. Sucy and Lotte were doing the same, and soon the dragons fell. The dragons were enough to push them all up to level 6, giving Sucy and Lotte their ults.

“What a disaster this game's been.” Sucy muttered. “Let's get bottom lane tower, and try and push to high ground.” Akko nodded. It was all downhill from here.

 

 

The dragons had settled in a weird spot in the jungle, somewhere that hadn't had a path opened to it yet. Sucy had knocked down a rock wall on the top lane side to let Akko in faster. As a result, on their way out of the jungle, the team naturally rotated out through the same direction before aiming to move around to the bottom lane. The extra time spent moving would give them time to get their mana back. Unfortunately, the Pogchamps had a similar idea. Sorrow Demon and Loyal Defender were both rotating down into the jungle, and the two teams ran into each other.

“Shit.” Sucy muttered. The team fight they'd won had put Pogchamps up in levels too, and now Sorrow Demon and Loyal Defender were both level 6. The red shadow of Sorrow Demon's ult descended on Loyal Defender. “I don't have mana for my ult.” Sucy called. Loyal Defender blinked on top of Akko and Sucy, and activated her ult, catching them both.

“I'm sorry if this doesn't work!” Lotte exclaimed, as she dropped her own ult on top of them. Akko wasn't actually sure what Lightwarden's ultimate did. She wasn't picked often, and so Akko had never had much experience with it. But the way she and Sucy were dealing no damage to Loyal Defender, nor taking any in return, gave Akko a pretty good idea.

“I think it worked.” She said. “Great job Lotte!”

“Thank you.” Lotte replied. Loyal Defender's ultimate expired, and for an awkward second no one could do anything else. Then Lightwarden's ultimate expired as well, and the fight began in earnest. Akko turned on Sorrow Demon, immediately turning her into a squirrel. That was her favourite part of Rod form. Sucy threw her bats after Sorrow Demon, before blinking on top of her with them. Sorrow Demon threw her Q onto Sucy, and activated her W. It wasn't worth much though. Akko glanced at the debuff. She'd lost only one point of armour for it.

Sucy clearly had lost a little more to it, as she was taking decent damage from Sorrow Demon, who was healing at a near equal rate. If they didn't stop her, she'd probably manage to kill Sucy first. With the angle Akko had, she couldn't knock Sorrow Demon into anything. So she fired her E away from everyone, throwing herself forward, and creating a line to stun Sorrow Demon. Then she fired her Q. It sent Sorrow Demon backwards, chunking a huge amount of life off of her, and stunning her immediately. Sucy and Akko both piled on, and without any lifesteal, Sorrow Demon fell quickly. Cleaning up Loyal Defender wasn't hard after that. The advance on Sorrow Demon had put them in a position to totally surround her. Fallen Angel appeared on the map, heading up through their vision in the jungle to help. When Sorrow Demon fell, she turned around and fled, leaving Loyal Defender to die as well.

“Top lane?” Akko suggested.

“Top lane.” Sucy agreed. They immediately headed into the top lane, and began shoving it out. With the Sorcerer's Stone, they had the mana to keep going. Lotte was spamming her Q as they ran, patching up the damage they'd all taken, but her mana total kept climbing despite it. By the time they reached the second tower in the top lane, they were all fully recovered.

The tower fell quickly, and they moved up to the next tower. Sorrow Demon would be respawning soon, but even if she did, Loyal Defender still had a few seconds on top of her. So they shoved in to the base, pushing down the last tower in the top lane too. They managed to get it just as Loyal Defender respawned, and they pulled back to regroup for a moment.

“I think we fight them!” Akko exclaimed.

“Why? We can do better by sieging. They don't even have a tower anymore.” Sucy replied.

“But sieging is so boring!” Akko whined.

“I...think I agree with Akko.” Lotte said tentatively.

“You do?” Akko asked, looking over at Lotte in surprise. Lotte nodded.

“Why?” Sucy called across to her.

“Because...Akko sieges best in bow form, but she's only got rod and hook form right now, which is better for picking a fight.” Lotte explained. Sucy sighed.

“Whatever. Do you have a ward for high ground?”

“I'll get one.”

“Fine. We'll siege until it gets here.” Sucy grumbled. Akko beamed. They were going to win this fight, and then roll it into the end of the game.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Diana was surprised that they had pulled back. She was certain that Akko would stay in, go for the barracks, and probably get herself killed.

“Oh wow, Akko knows when to fall back.” Barbara remarked.

“I was sure she'd stay there with a stupid look on her face and die.” Hannah agreed. Diana glanced at them. Sometimes they got a little too mean, but Akko wasn't here. Besides, if she wanted to be like Chariot, she'd hear a lot worse from crowds in the future. So Diana let them go. They weren't bad people. If Akko ended up being good enough, they'd come around on her. And if not, well, the criticism would be deserved. Diana turned her gaze back to the screen.

The Pogchamps were gathered around their barracks, waiting for Luna Nova to advance. Luna Nova meanwhile was setting up outside the base, waiting for their minion wave. The courier was coming out as well, carrying a pair of wards and an item for both Sucy and Lotte. They received their items, completing the Holy Chalice each of them had been building. Akko was still only using a sage's cap. She had the gold to purchase something else, but Diana knew well enough that any item Akko bought now would ruin the balance of her forms. It'd push the CDR she needed for hook form higher than she could manage without another item to increase it.

As soon as the wards arrived, Lotte placed one through the wall to the base onto the high ground. It only took a second for Akko to lock onto her target, and fire off her hook. She hit Loyal Defender, and pulled her out of the base. The team descended on her, shredding through Loyal Defender's health. She was tanky, yes, but three heroes focusing her was too much. That might have been a mistake however, as the kill did give Sorrow Demon a lot of Punishment stacks.

The team rotated around, and joined up with their minion wave, before pushing up into the high ground. For a second, Diana expected the worst. But Akko landed a polymorph on Sorrow Demon, followed a Concussive Blast, pushing Sorrow Demon against the barracks and stunning her. With all three heroes focusing her down, and Crimson Lady's ult activated, she fell quickly. Fallen Angel didn't last much longer, and the team pushed on to destroy the barracks. It was a significant advantage they'd secured. It'd take a huge blunder to lose it.

“Do you think they fuck it up?” Barbara asked.

“Absolutely.” Hannah replied. But they didn't. If only because they weren't given the chance. The Pogchamps had called “GG”, surrendering the game. Diana didn't blame them. Fighting an uphill battle like that would be painful, and not worth the energy most likely. It would be better to conserve their energy for the next map, and possibly go into it with an overall higher morale.

 

The next map was Polaris Crater, and it went about as badly as Diana could have imagined. Akko picked Lightwarden for Lotte again, and then proceeded to play far too aggressively. She made several dives into the jungle to try and make picks. Most of them resulted in her landing in the middle of no where, with no one nearby, and she had to do a walk of shame back to lane. Those were the good jumps. The bad ones landed her in immediate danger, where she was quickly killed.

Pogchamps were running a more standard team composition, and Lotte was struggling as well. Diana had seen the way she'd barely held it together in the first game. Yes, she had made good plays. Yes, she had done everything right. But Diana could see from the look on Lotte's face she was doubting everything. In the second game, those doubts began to manifest in her play.

Thankfully, the disastrous second match was short. The Pogchamps secured the first fountain, and with how fed Akko had made them, they simply marched into the base and won. The third match was on Arcturus Forest. Diana prepared herself for the red team to be knocked out on the first round when Akko picked Lightwarden again.

This time however, Akko brought her Bow/Rod form, and Sucy was on Trickster. Her play transformed entirely, and she laned alongside Lotte, leaving Sucy to take a solo lane. Akko became shockingly conservative. Diana wasn't entirely convinced Akko hadn't been replaced by an alien, until the late game, when her old, aggressive self came back. She had gotten very fed early, and she was 1v3ing the enemy team handily. Which was good, because the way she played was getting Lotte and Sucy killed a lot. Eventually however, she wiped the enemy team, and managed to secure the game. As soon as the game was over, the door opened abruptly, and Lotte walked out. She immediately walked over to where the team was sitting.

“I'm going back to the hotel coach.” She said softly. “Good night everyone, I'll see you all in the morning.” Before anyone could say anything, she was off.

“What the fuck was that about?” Barbara asked. Diana frowned. She had an idea what it might be.


	20. Interlude One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for an interlude as I get ahead on writing again. The good news is chapter 19 is done. I wrote 4000 words on Sunday and took it from barely started to finished. 20 has a small dent in it too. Apologies that the interlude is short, but hey, insight into the grander plot kind of maybe.

**\---CROIX---**

 

The train was a piece of shit. Croix didn't understand why Luna Nova insisted on using it. Apparently it was tradition, or something. Croix just thought it was cold. The rest of the team sat in the booths, chattering among themselves about the final game of the tournament. It had been an alright game. Chariot had lucked out with the team wipe, but Croix wasn't going to tell her that. Her ego was fragile enough that she might not be able to handle the revelation. The rest of the team didn't seem to realise how lucky she'd been, as they all fawned over her. Croix rolled her eyes, and focused on the tablet on her lap.

She didn't dislike Chariot at least. She was annoying at times, but who wasn't? And she seemed to actually appreciate what Croix did for her, which was more than could be said for most players. It was disgusting how many of them didn't appreciate their support staff. At least most of them listened, even if they didn't say thank you. Croix didn't mind that most people didn't appreciate her work. She didn't do it for them, after all. She just needed to refine her abilities. If she was good enough, she could transition into coaching, and start chasing her real dream.

“Hey, whatcha doing?” Chariot's voice interrupted Croix's thoughts. Croix glanced up from her tablet. The other girls had all settled down to sleep, leaving just the two of them still active.

“Reviewing some of the games.” Croix replied. Chariot flopped down beside her.

“Cool. Can I join you?” She asked. Croix eyed her suspiciously for a moment, trying to determine if their could be an ulterior motive. She couldn't find one.

“Sure, I guess.” She replied, sitting up straight, and holding her tablet out so Chariot could see it. It was playing a replay of the finals. Chariot looked over, her eyes scanning over the game for a moment.

“Why are you watching this one?” She asked.

“I'm trying to work out what you should have done differently. And what your team should have done differently, I guess.” Croix answered. That wasn't entirely truthful. The focus was on the team's mistake. But Chariot had been riding high since being called a potential bonjwa, and it was a knee-jerk reaction to try and drag her down. Croix glanced at Chariot after she finished speaking. She might take it a bit too hard.

“Huh? But I won, didn't I?” Chariot replied. There was no hurt on her face, just confusion. “So what did I do wrong?” Croix stared at her for a moment, before shrugging.

“You should've been more aware of Rapture.” Croix explained, tapping the screen where Rapture was. She rolled the game back a moment, and started playing it again. Chariot blinked into the fight in rod form, and fired her Q, knocking Rapture back against the wall. But she came up a few inches short, and didn't get stunned. Chariot gasped. Despite this, Rapture Ranger blinked over the wall, escaping the base, and starting to walk around to get back into the fight.

“I'd wondered how she got there.” Chariot admitted.

“She basically threw with that move. If you were paying attention you'd have turned on her when she didn't get stunned, and focused her down, instead of waiting for her to come back to hit her with a polymorph, you should've followed up and secured the kill.” Croix explained.

“But...I wouldn't have won the fight, right?” Chariot asked. “So I did the right thing.” Croix sighed, and lifted her glasses to rub her nose. How did she end up with such a dense girl?

“No. You won the fight because they threw. You made a mistake. They made a bigger mistake, which saved you from getting punished for it.” Croix explained. Chariot nodded.

“Okay, so I had to keep an eye on Rapture. Then what would I do here if she didn't blink?” She asked. Croix paused. That wasn't a question she got asked often.

“You should have followed up and polymorphed her.” She repeated. “And then swapped to bow form, and rushed her down. You'd be low after that, but you should've still been able to get at least one of the supports in time. That'd take the wind out of their sails. One support couldn't secure the game, and you can turn it around on the next fight.” Croix explained, pointing on the screen. Chariot nodded along, listening intently.

“Okay. So hey, what about that last match when I lost? What should I have done there?” Chariot asked. Croix blinked. What the fuck. Why was she asking so many questions.

“Let me check.” Croix answered, closing the game, and opening the other replay. “I'll have to think a minute, I'm not used to players asking me questions like this.” She admitted. Chariot beamed.

“Well, you know, Phaidoari Afairynghor.” Chariot declared.

“You don't get what you dream of, you get what you work for.” Croix completed. “I didn't think you'd be the type to know Arcturus.” Chariot gave her a sheepish smile.

“I heard about it when I was just starting out, and they seemed cool. It's why I applied to Luna Nova!” Chariot explained.

“And you're just now working on the second step?” Croix asked with a touch of snark. Chariot laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head.

“It's...a work in progress.” She admitted. Croix gave her a flat look for a moment, before sighing. It was better than nothing. Better than everyone else here. And if nothing else, explaining to this girl what she'd done wrong would distract her from how god damn much the seat behind her hurt, and how cold the train was.

“Alright, let's start going over this game then, and we'll see what went wrong.” Croix announced, as she started the replay on 1.5x speed. Beside her, Chariot shuffled a little closer, pressing her warm body against Croix's. She couldn't blame her. It was cold, and the warmth of another person was appreciated. For a second, Croix let her gaze linger on Chariot, and the way she eagerly stared at the screen in front of her. Maybe not all players were so bad after all.


	21. Chapter Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back! That interlude got me well and truly back into the saddle. Chapter twenty is done and dusted and oh god am I sorry for putting you all through this. But hey, this chapter is cute! I actually wrote most of it in one night cause I was so caught up in it. I thought I was at about 2000 words for the night. NOPE. It was 4000+. Good day overall I'd say.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy! Comments are much loved as always!

**\---LOTTE---**

 

Lotte was furious. She'd asked Akko not to pick Lightwarden again. She was fine with her for one match, but if she wasn't going to be synergizing with the map, then she should be picking something she was better on. But Akko insisted that it'd be better this way. After all, they'd be keeping all of Lotte's real heroes a secret. It was a stupid reason. A stupid excuse for Akko's shitty behaviour. Lotte didn't wait for them to finish. She mumbled a request to Sucy to pack up her stuff, and left the booth as soon as the game was over. She promptly excused herself, only half aware of what she was doing, and left, heading for the bus.

The air outside was crisp and cold. It had a nip to it, but thankfully it wasn't raining or snowing. Lotte could live with a cold night. She'd brought a jacket and a scarf after all, both of which she threw on as she walked through the crowds of people that were slowly departing. It seemed there was a constant flow of people coming and going, as the irregular schedules of gamers reared their heads.

By the time Lotte reached the bus stop, she wasn't furious anymore. She knew Akko hadn't meant to upset her. That much was clear by the confused look on her face as Lotte stormed out. She was just doing what she thought was best. That didn't mean Lotte wasn't frustrated. She'd told Akko not to do it, and she still had. As she reasoned it out, Lotte began to forgive her, before coming back to this fact. Every time she did, the frustration returned. She sighed.

“It's okay. We have a whole day to get over it before the next round.” She reminded herself softly. “I'm sure Akko will understand when I explain to her.” The bus pulled up as she reassured herself, and she climbed on, smiling sheepishly at the driver who was giving her a strange look. She settled on one of the seats, and let out a deep sigh. Then something dawned on her. She'd left Akko and Sucy alone. After winning the last match of the day. Which probably would have an interview at the end of it.

“Oh no...” She said softly. She had made a terrible mistake.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

“Thanks Tastosis, I'm here on the floor, joined by Akko and Mushroom, who just won their first match. Thanks for joining me guys!” Smix began the interview, before turning towards Akko and Sucy. Akko had no idea what she was doing.

“Uh, thanks for having us?” She replied uncertainly. Ursula had gone over the basics before. Be polite. Don't say anything mean about the others. Keep personal information vague and mysterious. She hadn't explained how to handle the introduction however. Akko had watched a ton of interviews, but somehow everything she'd seen in them vanished from her brain.

“No problem.” Sucy added.

“Alright, Akko, there's a lot of buzz right now about your Moonlit Witch. How hard was it to make those two-form builds?” Smix asked. Akko's mind went blank. For a moment she just stared at Smix.

“Uh...” She started. “Well, I had builds like that before the nerfs, but we had to do a lot of work to tweak them to get the right balance.” She explained. “Most of them took an hour or two to work out the opening version, and then we had to work out what to build to keep them functional through the game.”

“Awesome. Can we expect to see some more crazy builds like that?” Smix asked. Akko nodded.

“Yeah? Yes. Yes you can.” She replied, stumbling a bit.

“Alright, final question. Why did you pick Moonlit Witch?”

“Because I want to be just like my hero, Shiny Chariot!” Akko replied instantly. This question, she'd practised for. “I've been playing Moonlit Witch ever since I saw Chariot play as a kid. I want to be the best Moonlit Witch, just like she was, and maybe one day I'll get to meet her!”

“That's awesome. Best of luck to you on that. Now, Mushroom. I'm sorry you've been a bit overshadowed by the captain here, is there anything you'd like to say to any potential fans that might want to learn more about you?” Smix asked, offering the microphone to Sucy.

“No.” Sucy replied. “Thank you.”

“Okay, well, there you have it, two of the members of Luna Nova Red, back to you Tastosis.” Smix announced. The light on the camera cut off, and she turned back to the girls. “Thanks for the interview. Good luck in the next round.” She said, before heading off with her crew, waving at them. The rest of the team advanced from where they'd been standing nearby.

“I think that went well.” Akko announced.

“It was a disaster.” Amanda said.

“What?”

“But it was a cute disaster, I'm sure it's fine.” Akko looked to Ursula, who had a concerned look on her face.

“Coach, was it a disaster?” She asked.

“Well, um, I wouldn't say that. But...perhaps it could have gone a little better. Maybe we'll practice interviewing tomorrow and make sure you're ready for the next one.” Ursula answered. Akko sighed. That meant yes, it was a disaster.

“Well. I've got an errand to run, and then we were going for drinks.” Diana announced. “So we'll be heading off. See you all tomorrow.” Diana turned, and started to leave, followed by Hannah and Barbara.

“Are we going for drinks?” Sucy asked. Akko paused. She wanted to. She wanted to relax and forget about the interview. But Lotte had stormed off, and going without her felt rude. But she'd just be anxious about that at home instead.

“Yes.” Akko decided.

 

**\---HANNAH---**

 

“So what's with the pyjamas?” Hannah asked, as she trotted along beside Diana. They'd taken an uber back into town, and stopped at a department store before heading for the bar. Diana had made a hard beeline for the clothes section, and picked up a fairly plain set of pyjamas that weren't in her size, and immediately gone to buy them without any explanation. Now they were heading for the bar, and Hannah figured it was safe to ask questions.

“They're for Akko.” Diana answered. “She forgot hers, and she has no sense of decency once she's settled in the room.”

“Oh my god, I am so sorry.” Barbara said. “One of us should've volunteered to swap with you.” Hannah crinkled her nose at the thought. A week stuck with Akko? Diana was a good friend, but she wasn't sure she was that good of a friend. She wasn't sure anyone was.

“It's quite alright. We're establishing an order. I'm sure tomorrow everything will be fine.” Diana explained.

“Is that why you were distant earlier?” Barbara asked. Hannah shot her an incredulous look. They couldn't just ask her that. Not without some drinks first at least. Barbara shot a look back. “What? Fight me.” It said. Hannah considered it.

“That was part of it, yes.” Diana replied. “I was also a little pre-occupied with being at an event for the first time. I'll be sure to be much more focused next round. Speaking of which, you two did an excellent job today.”

“Thank you.” Hannah and Barbara chorused. They came to a stop outside the bar, and after a brief interaction with the bouncer, they glided on inside. Barbara offered to pick up the first round, so Hannah and Diana made their way over to a booth and settled in.

“So...” Hannah began awkwardly. What the fuck did they talk about? Diana being distant all day had put her on edge. She was a bit better now, but there was still an air about her that Hannah couldn't penetrate.

“How did you find watching the games?” Diana asked. Hannah smiled. She appreciated the ice breaker.

“It was alright. Most of the teams were pretty trash. Appleton was good though. Andrew's really good.” Hannah replied. Diana's mouth tightened slightly at the mention of Andrew, and Hannah winced slightly.

“Yes, he is.” She replied. “It's a shame that's one of the only things he has going for him.”

“He's cute too.” Hannah joked.

“I wouldn't know.” Diana replied. Hannah frowned slightly. She doubted that. Sure, she wasn't into girls really, with a rare exception, but she could appreciate when a girl was hot. There was no way Diana could be oblivious to Andrew being cute. Her train of thought was interrupted by Barbara as she settled down with their drinks.

“So.” She announced, as she picked up her beer. She paused to take a sip. “Diana, we haven't talked about the train ride here yet.” Diana visibly tensed up a little. Hannah frowned.

“Why would we talk about the train ride?” She asked.

“Yes Barbara. What about the train ride do we have to speak about?” Diana added. Her voice was icy, and despite it not being directed at her, Hannah wanted to shrink away from her all the same. Barbara winced slightly, and took another sip, followed by a deep breath.

“Oh, you know, Akko falling asleep on your shoulder, and you letting her stay there most of the trip.” Barbara replied. She tried to sound brave, but her voice shook ever so slightly. Diana stared at her blankly for a moment.

“I haven't the faintest idea what about that could make a compelling conversation.” She replied. And that was it. Hannah knew she needed to know more.

“How'd that happen?” She asked. Diana sighed.

“She came over to talk to me when you all fell asleep, and then when we reached the end of our conversation, she fell asleep too. I let her stay because it was cold, and she was warming me up.” Diana explained. It sounded more like an excuse to Hannah.

“What did you talk about?” Barbara asked.

“The VN I was playing the night before.” Diana answered.

“Heart of the Woods, right?” Hannah picked up. Diana nodded. Hannah picked up her phone and started googling it. Her suspicions were quickly proven right, as she found that it was, indeed, gay.

“So, you just talked about the VN and nothing else?” Barbara asked.

“Akko wanted to know what it was about, and when I explained she wrote down the name to look at it later.” Diana explained.

“Akko went to look at this gay shit later?” Hannah demanded. Diana nodded.

“Is she gay?” Barbara asked, her voice dropping to an excited whisper. Hannah didn't blame her. They'd had a lot of discussions about finding someone for Diana. Akko would...be an acceptable first step. Hardly ideal, but good to get her feet wet at least. She was such an idiot Diana could probably flirt with her and she'd never realise. It was perfect. Diana hesitated on the answer.

“I'm...not sure.” She said finally.

“How are you not sure?”

“Well...” Diana started. Hannah realised they were in for a bit of a story.

 

**\---BARBARA---**

 

“She was drunk at the time, I should preface this story with that.” Diana lead off with the excuses. Barbara nodded along. She wasn't sure what she was hoping for with this story. Akko would be a terrible partner for Diana. She was an idiot, and she'd drive Diana mad. But on the other hand, Diana needed someone. She needed someone badly. Akko was an option that could scratch that itch for a while. And there wasn't any risk of them losing a friend in the fall out when it went poorly.

“But when she came back from drinks last night, she looked terrible. I got her some water, and helped her into bed. At which point she explained she didn't have pyjamas. She was worried about sleeping in just her shirt again. When I asked her why, she said it was because I was gay.” Diana began explaining.

“Which you are.” Barbara added.

“What was she worried about? You getting too thirsty or something?” Hannah asked grumpily. “She knows that's not how that works right?”

“She was worried about making me uncomfortable.” Diana explained. “So, I told her I wasn't gay.”

“Why?” Barbara cut her off. What the fuck was she thinking? She did this all the time, and Barbara hated it. Sure, she couldn't let her sexuality get out into the public, but Akko was a team mate. If she spilled the beans, she'd be facing removal from the team at the very least.

“It was a force of habit.” Diana replied, with a dismissive hand wave. “It's not important. But then she replied that it was a shame, and said I was pretty.” There was a pause.

“Is that it?” Hannah asked. Diana nodded.

“She fell asleep immediately after.” She explained. Barbara stared at Diana. Her captain was an idiot. A complete, and total moron. A girl comes up to her, passes out on her shoulder, calls her pretty, and she thinks that they only might be gay. Barbara wasn't sure which gods she'd offended to be stuck with this moron, but she made a point to make amends with all of them after this.

“Diana.” She began softly. “You know I respect you as our captain, right?”

“Of course.” Diana replied.

“Okay. So you know I'm not being mean when I say this. You're a moron.” Barbara said. She glanced at Hannah. She hesitated, before nodding in agreement.

“How so?” Diana asked.

“How can you not tell?” Barbara continued. Diana wouldn't just listen, of that Barbara was sure.

“I'm afraid I still don't follow.”

“How can you tell us all of that, and still not know if Akko is gay or not.”

“It's hardly definitive.” Diana replied. Barbara took a deep breath, and sighed.

“The girl fell asleep on your shoulder. She called you pretty while she wasn't thinking straight. People say what they mean when they're tired like that. And she said it was a shame too!” Barbara laid out the evidence. Diana continued to look at her with that impassive expression she usually gave people she didn't think were making sense. Barbara sighed again. “For god's sake Diana! Akko is gay!” She practically shouted.

“Akko. Why didn't you tell me? I'd have bought you a cake.” A very dry voice came from a short distance away. Barbara turned to look. Akko and Sucy were both standing there. Akko's face was bright red, and she looked terrified. Well fuck, she'd done it now.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko stared at them. She...wasn't sure what she was thinking right now. After a little discussion, she and Sucy had decided to go to the bar they'd been at last night. They'd arrived to see the blue team was here as well, and after a very short, mostly Akko-led discussion, they'd decided to grab drinks and go join them. They might get told to leave, but Akko was okay with that. She just wanted to try and be nice. Walking over she'd gone through what to expect. A surprisingly nice welcome? Them telling her to fuck off? Them being asked to sit and then Hannah and Barbara tearing into her. She was okay with most of those.

She hadn't expected to walk up to find Barbara shouting at Diana that she, Akko, was gay. She wasn't wrong, of course, and Akko didn't mind people knowing. But she wasn't sure why this was being shouted. Barbara looked at them as Sucy spoke, and her eyes went wide. She looked like she'd seen a ghost.

“Hello Akko.” Diana said. Her face was a little red. Akko couldn't blame her. Her face was burning hot, and she could only imagine how she looked right now.

“Hi.” Akko replied awkwardly. Everyone stayed still, staring at each other uncertainly.

“Would you care to join us?” Diana asked. Akko wasn't sure she wanted to anymore.

“Oh, that's okay.” Akko replied quickly.

“What are you talking about?” Sucy cut her off. “You were just saying we should sit with them.” Akko glared at Sucy. Thanks.

“Yeah, alright, I guess we can join you.” Akko agreed. Not that she had much choice now. Sucy grinned at her. She knew what she'd just done. The two of them shuffled into the booth. Sucy immediately sat beside Barbara, forcing Akko to sit beside Diana. She smiled at her as she settled in, and Diana smiled back. There was a strain in the smile.

“So, what were we talking about?” Sucy asked. The air sat, silent and heavy for a moment.

“We were talking about the ride up here.” Hannah began. “And Diana was telling us about how Akko fell asleep on her shoulder. And since she'd asked about Heart of the Woods, we were discussing if Akko was gay.”

“Well, she's here now.” Sucy announced, looking at Akko. “Why don't you clear things up for them?” Akko folded her arms, and lowered her head onto them, hiding her face.

“Why do I have to answer that?” She grumbled.

“You don't.” Diana answered.

“Well, if she's not going to answer, I guess I'll have to remind everyone what you were playing earlier.” Sucy announced. Akko thought for a moment. What did she mean? Oh. Hunie Pop. Akko lifted her head. Barbara and Hannah were both grinning as well.

“That's not necessary!” She said quickly. “Fine, yes, I'm gay.” She admitted. There was an awkward pause around the table.

“Well I mean, there's nothing wrong with that.” Barbara offered finally. Akko looked over at her suspiciously, waiting for an insult to follow. But she seemed genuine. Akko smiled.

“I know. I just...I dunno. It's weird to talk about it here.” She explained.

“I agree. It's hardly appropriate conversation while we're supposed to be celebrating.” Diana announced. Akko frowned slightly. What did she mean by that? For a second, she thought Diana might have a problem with it. Then she remembered the game Diana was playing, and what Amanda had said. Her face turned a little red. Sex. She must be meaning that sex wasn't an appropriate conversation topic for a celebration. Akko picked up her drink a took a long sip to avoid having to look at anyone as she pushed the thoughts aside.

“So, what do we talk about?” Sucy asked.

“We could talk about how Akko picked Lightwarden for Lotte each game.” Hannah suggested. Akko grimaced. That was the Hannah she knew. She took another sip from her drink.

“It's a celebration.” Diana chided Hannah. “We should be being positive.” She also took a sip from her drink. Akko smiled a little.

“Right! So what are you all doing tomorrow? Since it's kind of a day off.” She asked.

“Hannah and I were going to walk the floor and look at some of the exhibits.” Barbara answered. Akko nodded.

“What exhibits?” She asked.

“Oh my god do you read nothing about where you're going?” Hannah exclaimed. Akko shook her head, and Hannah sighed. “Since it's the first event for Magical Burst in the season, it also doubles as a bit of an expo so there's a bunch of stands around with previews for upcoming games.”

“Oh cool. Are they like the DDR machines?” Akko asked.

“Kind of, yeah.” Barbara replied. She seemed to be thinking for a moment, before a big grin spread across her face. “Speaking of which, you were really good.”

“Oh, thanks? When did you see me play?” Akko asked.

“We saw you going with Ursula and went to check it out.” Barbara explained. “Well, Diana suggested we go check it out. I assume because she wanted to see where the DDR machines were.” She was looking at Diana rather intently.

“I believe someone else suggested it. I just said we could go.” Diana replied.

“Well, you were the last word in the decision.” Barbara argued. “Which was so you could see where they were, right?”

“Something like that, yes.” Diana answered, picking up her drink and taking a long sip. Akko frowned slightly. It felt like there was some subtext she was missing. Oh well, it was probably nothing important. Talking about DDR reminded Akko of talking with Ursula, which in turn brought her mind to what she'd talked to Amanda about. The plan to wear pants to bed. There was just one problem with this plan. The only pants she'd brought were jeans.

“Hey Sucy. Do you mind if we leave early to go shopping?” She asked. Sucy half glared at her.

“Why? I thought we were going out to celebrate.” She demanded. Akko hesitated.

“Um...I wanted to buy some new pants.” Akko answered. Sucy's expression got worse.

“Can't that wait?”

“Not...really?”

“Are you looking for pants to wear to bed?” Barbara asked. She sounded surprisingly helpful. Akko nodded.

“Yeah. Since, y'know, I forgot my pyjamas.” She explained. Barbara grinned.

“Well, funny thing. Diana wanted to talk to you about that.” She said. “And since I've just noticed a couple cute guys who are looking at us, why don't we leave you two to talk about it, while Hannah, Sucy and I go chat with them.”

“Why am I going too?” Sucy asked. Barbara shot her a glare. To Akko's surprise, Sucy actually flinched slightly. “Alright, fine.” She grumbled, climbing to her feet and grabbing her drink.

“Alright, bye you two!” Hannah called as they all walked off, leaving Akko and Diana alone.

“What...brought that decision on?” Diana asked idly.

“Huh?” Akko replied.

“To wear pants.”

“Oh. I was talking with Amanda about what happened last night. Since I thought you were upset with me.” Akko explained. She paused. She shouldn't have said any of that. She glanced over at Diana, dreading her reaction.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Akko had told Amanda about their conversation. Of all the things that Diana could have heard, that was one of the worst. Amanda was an infuriating person, who would certainly find something in that conversation to exploit.

“I see.” Diana replied calmly. “Well, you did seem concerned about not having pants, and so I figured you might be more comfortable with some pyjamas.” She picked up the bag with the clothes in them, and handed it over to Akko. Akko picked it up, her eyes wide.

“This is a nice bag.” She remarked. She peaked inside. “Are you sure it's okay if I have this?” Diana quietly cursed herself. She hadn't even thought about it when picking a place. She'd just gone to a place she was familiar with. Of course it would be more expensive than what Akko was used to.

“Yes, I'm sure.” Diana replied. “I thought if it was a nice pair, you might not forget them next time.” Akko grinned.

“Thanks Diana! You're the best!” She declared, before throwing herself onto Diana, grabbing her in a hug. Diana froze. What the fuck was she supposed to do? Akko was soft, and warm, and leaning on Diana as she was, Diana had no choice but to pick up on how nice she smelt too.

“Akko, we are in a pub. Please get off me.” Diana said curtly. Akko pulled back quickly.

“Sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to...y'know, be weird.” Akko apologised. For a second Diana wondered why her apology was so intense. Then it occurred to her. Akko thought Diana was straight, and she'd just announced being gay. Of course she'd think Diana would get the wrong idea. Diana debated if she wanted to correct that. On the one hand, if Akko avoided physical contact like that, then she'd have a much easier time resolving whatever strange feelings she had. On the other hand, she wasn't sure she wanted those feelings resolved.

“You didn't make it weird.” Diana replied. “It was just a touch uncouth for a public establishment.”

“Oh, okay!” Akko said, grinning. The conversation fell into an awkward silence. Diana took another big drink to try and avoid needing to speak for a moment. She had no idea what to talk about. She should address the conversation last night. Straighten out Akko's perception of her. Diana smiled at that. The perception being too straight was the problem. Gayen out Akko's perception of her, perhaps?

“What are you laughing at? Do I have something on my face?” Akko asked.

“Oh, no, I wasn't laughing at you.” Diana replied quickly. “I was just thinking, and had a silly thought.”

“Oh, cool, what was it?” Diana pursed her lips at that question. How would she get out of this one.

“I'm afraid I can't share.” She replied. “It's about how we plan to beat you when we meet in the tournament.” Akko grinned, and clenched a fist.

“So, you think we'll meet!” She declared. “Wouldn't that be in the finals?”

“It would be, yes.” Diana replied. “Though, that doesn't mean I think you'll make it. I just imagine we will meet eventually, and when we do, I don't want you to know my plan.” Akko stared at Diana incredulously for a moment. Then she stuck her tongue out at her.

“We'll make it!” She declared. “And then we'll beat you!”

“We know your cheeses now Akko. I highly doubt you'll beat us.” Diana replied.

“Wanna bet?” Akko asked.

“I also doubt you'll make it far enough to fight us.” Diana retorted.

“Then if either of us get knocked out, whoever knocked us out counts.” Akko suggested. Diana sighed.

“This is absurd. What would we even bet?” Diana asked. Akko paused for a moment.

“Lunch!” She declared after a moment. Diana stared at her flatly.

“Pardon?”

“Lunch! The loser treats the winner to lunch the day before we leave.” Akko insisted. Diana smiled a little.

“Miss Kagari, are you asking me on a date?” She teased. Akko paused for a moment.

“If I win, yeah. It'll be a date.” She boldly declared. It was Diana's turn to pause. Had Akko really asked her on a date? Did she want to go on a date with Akko? She wasn't sure.

“Hmm. If that's the case, I don't think you treating me to lunch when I win is worth much.” Diana replied. “Laundry.”

“Huh?”

“You do my laundry for a week if I win.” Diana said. Akko nodded.

“Fine, you're on!” She declared, holding her hand out. Diana took it, and shook.

“Deal. May the best team win.”

“We will.”

“I'm sorry, you must have misheard me. I said best.” The two girls smiled at each other. Diana hoped she hadn't just made a mistake by agreeing to this.


	22. Chapter Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh, SGDQ just started about 20 minutes ago. I'll be watching this all god damn week. I'd recommend checking it out! That said if there's a delay on next week's update that's why.
> 
> Comments etc appreciated as always, cause we're on a downward spiral into gay now. Enjoy!

**\---SUCY---**

 

To Sucy's surprise, Hannah and Barbara weren't so bad. The boys had been a lie. They'd instead moved to the far side of the bar, and set up where they could see what was happening with Diana and Akko. That wasn't to say she liked them. She didn't, even when they were being nice. But they at least made an effort to talk. And it became quickly apparent that there was an ulterior motive here. Diana was gay, and Barbara and Hannah were pushing her towards Akko.

“Why? They'd be terrible for each other.” Sucy had asked.

“Diana hasn't had a girlfriend yet.” Hannah explained through a mouthful of pretzels. Sucy enjoyed watching Hannah eat them in total ignorance. “So even if they're terrible for each other, at least she gets to find out what it's like.”

“Plus, since they can't stand each other, we don't lose a friend. And we know there's absolutely no way they'll actually like, fall in love, so it's a safe prospect.” Barbara had finished the reasoning. After that the night was okay. Eventually they returned, and chatted about the event, and their games. Sucy didn't quite feel like she fit in, but everyone was clearly trying to get along. Unfortunately, Sucy knew that there was an ulterior motive behind it. Or fortunately, since she wouldn't fall for it. Once the night was over, they all went home. Lotte was sitting by the window when Sucy walked in, nursing a drink in her hands. She seemed to be deep in thought.

“Are you okay?” Sucy asked. Lotte jumped, and looked up.

“Oh, Sucy, you scared me.” She replied, letting out a sigh. “Yeah, I guess.” Sucy looked at her. She seemed better than before, but that didn't mean she was doing good. Sucy could just leave it. It was Akko's mess after all. Instead she walked across the room, and settled into the chair across from Lotte.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked. Lotte looked up at her, and smiled. Despite the smile, there was still a lot of sadness in her eyes.

“It's okay. Besides, it's weird hearing you be nice.” Lotte said.

“That's because most people annoy me.” Sucy replied immediately. “But you're okay. So I'm here to listen if you want to talk.” Lotte nodded.

“I'm just...frustrated? Angry? Something like that.” Lotte explained. “I was trying to tell Akko not to keep giving my Lightwarden, but she kept doing it.” Sucy nodded.

“She's a bit pigheaded at times.” Sucy agreed. “But she means well.” Lotte sighed.

“I know! That's the worst bit!” She replied. “I'm not even as angry as I think I should be because of that. But it doesn't help! I start getting over it, and then I circle back around. Maybe it'd be better if she knew what she was doing. That way she might actually apologise!”

“She'd probably apologise anyway, if she knew you were upset.” Sucy offered. Lotte lifted her cup to her mouth and took a sip, before letting out a soft, sad sigh.

“Yeah, you're right.” She admitted. “I'm just being stupid.”

“I don't think it's stupid.” Sucy said. “You can feel how you want to feel.” Lotte smiled a little.

“Thanks.” She took a big sip, and set down her cup, having finished. “Did you guys have fun at least?”

“Yeah.” Sucy replied. She paused a moment, debating what to say. Then she decided to just go for it. “Hannah and Barbara are trying to hook up Akko and Diana.” Lotte looked at Sucy.

“What? Why?” She asked. Sucy shrugged.

“They're both gay, and Diana needs to get some experience dating.” She explained. Lotte took a moment to process this.

“What about Akko?”

“Eh, I think it'll do her some good too. Plus when they fall apart we won't have to deal with the blue team as much.” Sucy explained.

“But what if they don't?” Lotte asked.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I mean...they're a lot like a pair that gets shipped all the time in Nightfall. They're super cute together. What if they actually like each other?” Lotte explained. Sucy paused. That'd mean she'd actually have to deal with the blue team even more.

“Oh no.” She said. Lotte nodded.

“Well, it's too late now I guess.” She announced. “It seems like whatever plan there was is being started.” Sucy nodded.

“Yeah. Do you wanna get some sleep?”

“Please.”

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Why the fuck had she made that joke? Diana had no idea. At the time, it seemed harmless. A cute bit of flirting. An attempt to correct the stupid idea she'd given Akko about her being straight. Though she wasn't sure she wanted to correct it. It just...seemed natural. Then she had to walk back to the hotel with Akko, and the reality sunk in. She would have to keep sleeping in the same bed as Akko for a week, with the constant undercurrent of their potential date.

At least the outcome was unlikely. Diana was very confident that the red team couldn't actually beat them. The real threat was the randomness if one, or both of them lost, and the game was out of her control. Diana immediately excused herself to the bathroom as soon as they got in to shower. She started the water, and climbed in, letting it flow through her hair as she leant back to think.

Did she like Akko? She wasn't sure. She found Akko attractive. She'd admitted that much to herself after the last time she was thinking about Akko in this room. Diana felt a blush creep onto her face. She turned and stared into the water, trying to wash it away. Akko was attractive. She could admit that without finding it weird. But did she like Akko as a person? The truth was she couldn't know. She didn't truly know Akko as a person.

That wasn't to say she didn't have an approximation of Akko. She was childish, stubborn, naive, and very much out of her depth. She had no idea of her place in the world, no respect for how things worked, and no concept of the position she was aspiring to. She worshipped Chariot, possibly one of the most harmful, and controversial figures to the scene. Akko was, in a word, everything Diana saw in an enemy. Akko would undoubtedly call Diana her rival, but Diana couldn't say she felt the same way. A rival implied someone was vaguely equal, and in terms of their abilities in Magical Burst, Akko was well and truly below Diana.

And yet, despite all this, Diana felt some vague respect for Akko. She was naturally charming, and her enthusiasm was a little bit infectious. Plus, for all her flaws, she had mastered Moonlit Witch, a hero which still eluded Diana. She'd had a good night tonight, chatting with Akko. She certainly wouldn't mind another.

When Diana came out of the shower, she had her conclusion in mind. She didn't like Akko. Not as a crush, at least. But she was pleasant enough company, and Diana could envision a future where she did like Akko. She didn't have any intention of allowing the date to happen, of course. If only because of her pride, and her desire to dodge a week of laundry. But if it did happen, she wouldn't be opposed. And perhaps if circumstances shifted going forward, she would change her mind, and actively pursue something. With that conclusion in mind, Diana climbed into bed, and tried to sleep. It didn't pass her notice that Akko was scrunched up on her side tonight. Diana decided to try not to read too much into that.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Why the fuck had she said yes? Akko had no idea. At the time saying it was a date had felt entirely innocuous. She'd expected Diana to back down! To laugh at the notion and say she couldn't possibly go on a date with Akko. After all, they were nothing alike. And she probably wanted a girl as smart and pretty and important as her. Assuming Amanda was even right about her being gay, of course, which she might not be. For all she knew she just asked a straight girl on a date. Not that it would be the first time she'd done that. She cringed slightly at that memory.

At the time of saying yes, everything had been fine. But somehow Akko had forgotten one major detail. She still had to sleep in the same bed as Diana. She still had to exist around her every night for a week. Once they walked into the room Akko realised her mistake. Diana didn't seem to have noticed anything was remiss, simply excusing herself for a shower, and then heading to bed. Akko climbed into bed too, curling up in the corner, facing away from Diana and trying very hard to forget the evening.

Akko took a deep breath, and tried to calm herself down a little. The good news was they'd made a bet, so there was no guarantee that they'd actually go on the date. All Akko had to do was lose to them and she'd just be doing Diana's laundry instead. Akko immediately dismissed that idea. Doing her laundry? Unacceptable. Planning to lose to her? Even worse. What if they lost first? Maybe she could sabotage them to make sure they didn't make it to the end.

That wouldn't work either, Akko realised. They'd said whoever beat them counted too. So unless they lost to someone else, who then lost again, they'd be out of luck. And she didn't imagine Diana losing before the round of four. So it was hopeless then. There was no way out. Akko sighed. Well, she'd just have to find a good place for lunch. She resolved. Preferably not too romantic, so she could play it off, and avoid letting things get awkward. That was the plan. With her resolve set, Akko closed her eyes, and tried to get some sleep. Tomorrow was a big, boring day, after all.

 

**\---CONSTANZE---**

 

Constanze hadn't been at all hungover in the morning. She had been a bit sleepy, but that was from staying up late working on Stanbot. When Ursula had mentioned staying back however, Constanze saw an opportunity. So she claimed she was feeling hungover, and took the day alone in her hotel room. She wasn't one for crowds on the best of days, and as far as she was concerned, events like this were a necessary evil at best.

She couldn't be entirely selfish however. If she had her way she'd have spent all day working on Stanbot. It was approaching the point of being able to start testing, and she was hoping to be finished before they got back to the team house. Stanbot was a training program Constanze had dreamed up after being let down by practice partners one too many times. They couldn't be relied on to accurately create the scenarios that needed to be practised. So Constanze decided to make a partner. It had proven to be harder than she'd originally thought, but after a lot of research into machine learning, Constanze had finally started getting results.

She was putting the finishing touches onto the program. Once that was done, it'd just take a few weeks of training, and she should have a new, functioning practice partner. Then the next step would be to teach it to learn by examples. Hand it five replays and ask it to play like someone else, or push the game to a certain state in them. Then it would be perfect.

But of course, that was her dream. Amanda and Jasminka were here too, and they counted on her. So she took an hour to investigate their next match up. The enemy team didn't have any matches out in the public, but she had their profiles at least. So she went over their stats, and built a plan. They had an abysmal win rate against Calamity, and favoured squishy heroes. The correlation there wasn't lost on Constanze. She picked apart their picks, and constructed a list of heroes for Amanda to pick, as well as a map ban flowchart, then got back to work for the day.

It wasn't until the early evening that she was interrupted by the sound of Amanda and Jasminka returning to their room. Constanze turned to look at them. She blinked. Amanda was carrying three brooms on her shoulder. She starred at Amanda, the question burning in her eyes. Amanda smiled.

“Oh, these?” She asked, acting like they weren't glaringly out of place. “I figured since we're the Luna Nova Witches, we should look the part. Rock up with some brooms on our shoulders, maybe get some wands too.” That was a stupid gimmick. Constanze nodded, and gave her a thumbs up. Fans loved stupid gimmicks.

“Glad you approve. I got a shorter broom for you too.” Amanda explained, hoisting them off her shoulder, and offering one. Constanze stood up and took it, before throwing it on her shoulder, testing the position. It was good. Amanda had picked out the perfect length. Constanze gave her a thumbs up, then pointed to the bed. They should sleep soon.

“Yeah, I know. Just let me go shower. You get fucking sweaty there.” Amanda said.

“I should too.” Jasminka agreed. Constanze winced slightly. Tomorrow would be hell.

 

The next day Constanze discovered she was right. The event was, in fact, hell. Though it wasn't quite as bad as she'd imagined. There were lots of people, but it was closed off to the public at least. Only the celebrities and participants in the tournament could access the area they were set up in. Even so, there was a lot of people, and it was too hot for her liking. Constanze quietly hoped that they'd get eliminated early, and she could go home. They weren't going to win after all. The green team was the weakest among the Luna Nova teams. They might defeat the red team when they encountered them, but there was no chance of them beating the blue team in the finals.

Their game was the second one of the day. The first game was the original last game of the day before. One of the teams had to arrive late, and so the tournament organisers had bumped the red team's game up. The original plan had been to have one side of the tournament the first day, and the other the second. This single team had ruined that. Constanze was very mildly upset. The game wasn't even good, and the team that ran late was eliminated first. Then it was their turn.

“Alright Cons, what am I doing?” Amanda asked, as they settled into the booth. Constanze handed her the paper she'd scrawled the plan onto. First ban was theirs, and Constanze had decided it was best spent on Ohana. They hadn't had much luck there last time, and if you were confident, you picked fairly standard maps. The enemy banned Tower in response. Amanda spent a moment staring at the flowchart, finding the Tower section, before submitting their next ban. Blue Moon. The next ban was for Fruitland. Constanze wasn't surprised. Amanda smirked as she looked at the plan. Fruitland being the second ban had several arrows pointing to it, labelled “likely”.

“Cute.” Amanda said, before submitting the first map pick. Polaris. It was their best map by far. Constanze didn't like making plans for it however. She was hoping she could come up with a solution to Rastavan, to improve their win rate enough to make that their best map instead.

“Alright, so first pick is Calamity.” Amanda read out. “And then...me on Shooting Star, and Loyal Defender for Jasminka. This is just our standard line up.” She looked up at Constanze, mildly confused. Constanze nodded. Calamity had been picked for her ability to burst down a mage. Shooting Star had similar damage output if built right, and Amanda enjoyed that style. Loyal Defender was, ultimately, the pick simply because she could tank whatever burst the enemy mages would throw out.

“Playing standard sounds fun.” Jasminka chimed in. Amanda scowled.

“I guess.” She grumbled. “Sure, let's do it.” Constanze gave her a thumbs up. This should be easy.

 

**\---URSULA---**

 

The green team's games were kind of disappointing to Ursula. As a spectator, she'd always preferred long, close games. The most exciting ones always had one team pushing in on the other constantly, the defending team teetering on the edge of defeat, until finally they collapsed, or they stabilised, and turned the tables. The best game she'd ever seen had that happen twice. In the past years however Magical Burst had moved towards a more fast-paced meta game. When Ursula played, twenty minute games were considered fast. Now twenty minutes was a fairly average game, and if they went for half an hour it was considered long.

That shift had been encouraged by the developers, who had leaned into that strategy, and provided soft buffs to enable games to go faster. That seemed to be more popular among viewers these days, much to Ursula's dismay. That having been said, it had been like that for the past two years, and people were starting to get fed up. There was a good chance that the meta would stabilise back to longer games in the future.

Even if it did, the ten minute stomps the green team had just demonstrated would always remain. None of Luna Nova's opponents in the first round posed challenges to them. The red team had lost to themselves, more than their opponents. The green team really highlighted that dynamic however. The blue team had outperformed their enemy with technical skill. The red team pulled through with a mix of strategy and execution. The green team won their games in hero selection. Their opponents picked a squishy composition, and Constanze on Calamity Cowgirl punished them for it.

Calamity used a unique mechanic of having to reload after every 6 attacks. The first attack after every reload was a guaranteed critical. She could also perform a roll, which would make the next attack a crit as well. Coupled with her ultimate, that fired off all remaining shots in rapid succession, she could easily land two crits and four regular hits in no time, and down any squishy target. Coupled with the chase of Shooting Star and lockdown from Loyal Defender, the green team laned until level 6, then picked a lane, and pushed it in. They couldn't really be contested by the squishier team, and they easily won both of their games.

Apart from the boredom, Ursula couldn't complain about the result really. It was an impressive showing that gave nothing away to their next opponents. The only possible problem was it might not win them many fans, but that was fine. Fans weren't usually won in the first round anyway. They'd have to make a strong impression in the next round though. After that it would be the red team and the green team facing off again. Ursula wasn't sure who would win, but she wanted both of the teams to make the most of the time they had before then, just in case.

With the matches over, Tastosis was chatting a little about what they'd seen, stalling to get ready for the interview. Ursula could see Amanda, broom in hand, standing with Smix. Constanze and Jasminka stood on either side, looking mostly professional with their brooms on their shoulders. Jasminka had a small packet of chips open, and was snacking away however.

“Alright, and now let's go to the interview.” Tasteless announced. The camera cut to Smix and the green team.

“Thanks Tasteless. I'm here with the Luna Nova green team. Thanks everyone for giving us the time. Seemed like you were in a bit of a rush to get out of there.” Smix began. Amanda chuckled and shrugged.

“Nah, I was all pumped up for a good long match.” She declared. “Guess I'll have to hope tomorrow is a bit more challenging.”

“What a cocky bitch.” Hannah remarked. Ursula glanced over at the other two teams, sitting across two of the spectator couches.

“I don't think Amanda even knows how to build for the late game.” Barbara added. Ursula couldn't quite fault her there.

“Oh wow, so, can we expect to see more of that going forward?” Smix asked.

“I think so. That was one of our better team compositions.” Amanda replied. “Dunno how long we'll be using it here though. We'll see who we're up against tomorrow.”

“Alright, and now the question I'm sure everyone is wondering at home. What's with the brooms?” Smix asked. Amanda chuckled.

“Well, y'know, we're the Luna Nova Witches. We've got the hats for it, so we figured why not add the brooms too.” She explained. Smix nodded.

“That's really cool. Alright before we let you go, any final words for any new fans?” Smix asked. Amanda paused for a moment.

“Dunno if she's a fan, but there was a cute brunette who walked past the front of the lounge as we were heading for the booths. She had her hair up in a bun, and was wearing a cute shirt. If that was you, swing by and say hi, we can go for drinks or something.” Amanda replied. She glanced directly at the camera, and winked as she suggested drinks.

“Unbelievable.” Barbara exclaimed.

“I regret wearing the uniform.” Hannah agreed. Ursula was inclined to agree with them. She'd have to have words with Amanda about this.

“Thanks, I hope you guys have a great time.” Smix replied, laughing softly. “Alright, back to you Tasteless and Artosis.” Ursula zoned out of the broadcast, and turned her attention to where Amanda was saying her goodbyes to Smix, before heading over to join them. It occurred to Ursula she'd be dealing with this for the rest of the tournament. Assuming it got better afterwards. She might be dealing with it for the rest of her career. She sighed softly. This was a mistake.

 

**\---AMANDA---**

 

With the game over, Amanda had a new goal. It wasn't to actually meet that girl she'd mentioned. For one thing, she wasn't real. It was a vague enough description that girls who might be interested could probably project themselves onto it. And if they couldn't, Amanda probably wouldn't be too interested anyway. If there were no bites, that was fine too, it wasn't her goal right now. Her new goal was to get under Diana's skin about whatever had happened with Akko the other night.

The team had been evicted from the spectating spot, seeing as the next team actually had support staff, so Amanda had to do a little hunting. The group had scattered, heading off to do their own thing. Diana was walking away from the rest, heading for the bathroom. A perfect opportunity, if ever Amanda saw one.

“Hey, I'm gonna run to the bathroom.” Amanda called to her team. She tossed her broom to Jasminka, and jogged off after her target. Diana slipped into the bathroom well ahead of Amanda. That was fine. She wasn't going to shout at Diana in a stall. That would be a special kind of rude. So instead she headed in, and leant against the sink, arms folded. It didn't take long for Diana to step outside. Her gaze settled on Amanda for a second, though there was no notable shift in her facial expression. She kept her usual impassive expression she wore in public.

“Can I help you with something Miss O'Neil?” She asked, as she headed to the sink.

“Yeah. I wanted to chat with you.” Amanda replied nonchalantly.

“Was it necessary to chat in here?” Diana turned on the water.

“Nah, but I didn't think you'd want Barbara and Hannah hearing about what you and Akko were talking about the other night.” Amanda declared, checking her nails idly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Diana tense up slightly.

“I'm afraid I don't know quite what you're referring to.” Diana replied. Amanda turned to face her. She had to be very careful here.

“I'm sure you do.” Amanda said. “You know, Akko was pretty upset by what you said.” Diana blinked. Amanda was worried she'd mis-stepped here, made a bad assumption.

“Which night are you referring to? Last night, or the night before?” Diana asked. Interesting development. For a split second Amanda considered gambling on the newest conversation. But she didn't know what it was.

“Night before.” Amanda replied.

“She was upset?” Diana repeated, still trying to be impassive. Amanda nodded.

“Oh yeah, super upset. She was worried you hated her. So, y'know, I figured I'd do her a solid and get to the bottom of it.” Amanda began explaining. A small frown was forming on her face. “She was also really worried that her not wearing pants to bed was upsetting your gay ass.”

“I'm not...” Diana started. Then she stopped, and sighed. “I suppose you're the reason Akko thought I was gay.” The word thought did not escape Amanda's notice. The plot thickens then.

“I mean, you are.” Amanda replied. Diana sighed again.

“That's beside the point. Who I tell is my business, not yours. Why should she know?” Diana demanded. Amanda shrugged.

“She's new to the country and gay as fuck. Thought she deserved to know her options.” She explained. Diana's expression turned incredulous.

“I am not an option!” She declared.

“So you don't think she's cute?” Amanda replied.

“That is not the point.” Diana retorted. So she did think Akko was cute. “I would appreciate you keeping your nose out of my relationship with Akko.” Amanda smirked.

“Wow, you two move fast.”

“That is not what I meant, and you know it.” Diana snapped back. “But since you insist on injecting yourself into this. The pants issue has been resolved, as I purchased her pyjamas last night, and we agreed to a potential da-” Diana cut herself off sharply. Amanda cocked an eyebrow at her.

“A potential what?” She asked.

“That is none of your business.” Diana declared. Amanda shrugged.

“Cool. Well, hope she took the pyjamas thing the right way. Sure sounds to me like you were upset by it.” She said. “But you're right, it's none of my business. Guess I'll leave you to it.” Amanda headed for the door before Diana could retort. “Don't forget to finish washing your hands.” She called over her shoulder.


	23. Chapter Twenty-one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit late. SGDQ and work teamed up and kicked my butt last week. This week is doing better though, and we're getting back into some sick games very soon. But until then, some gay! Enjoy!
> 
> Also the Gravity Rush thing mentioned here is obviously 100% fictional but god do I wish it wasn't so I could go throw up trying it. Seriously, that shit would make you sick.

**\---AKKO---**

 

“I'm gonna go and walk around a bit.” Akko declared. She took her headphones off, and set them down on the desk. She glanced at Lotte who was sitting beside her. Lotte turned her gaze towards Akko for a second, before fixing it back on the computer in front of her.

“Don't get lost.” Sucy said. Akko stood up.

“I won't.” She replied, before heading off into the crowd. Once she was out of earshot she let out a loud sigh. Lotte had been ignoring her all day. She shouldn't have gone out for drinks last night. She should have gone and found Lotte and made everything better. Instead she'd gone out to have fun, and now Lotte was even more angry! Akko had tried to reach out, and make things better, but all she found was a stone wall, uncaring of whatever she said.

So she decided to give up. For now, at least. She'd go for a walk, think things over a bit, and them come back and try again. Maybe if she could work out what went wrong she could apologise, properly. She'd already apologised of course. But she wasn't sure what exactly she'd done wrong, so it wasn't a great apology. The impassive look Lotte gave her didn't help any. Even Akko could tell she sounded desperate and awkward as she apologised.

Now Akko found herself wandering the floor, looking at the displays, but not really engaging with anything. They were neat, she guessed, but with her current mood nothing seemed very interesting. Eventually she just gave up on wandering, and found a spot to sit. She didn't want to watch something, and most chairs were in front of a desk if they weren't in a spectator spot, so Akko ended up sitting on the floor. She was up on the second floor at least, and so she sat on one of the many balconies that looked out over an area. The railing was a simple metal frame, with a few metal wires underneath, so Akko sat with her legs dangling over the edge, resting her arms on the top wire. She liked this position. She felt it made her look as dejected as she felt.

“Yo.” Amanda's voice called out to her. Akko glanced up. Amanda was walking over to her, broom still slung on her shoulder. Akko was kind of jealous she hadn't thought of the broom.

“Hey.” Akko replied softly. Amanda walked up beside her, and promptly dropped to the ground, shuffling forward to join Akko in hanging her legs over the edge.

“What's up?” Amanda asked.

“Lotte's mad at me.” Akko replied.

“That sucks.” Amanda offered. Akko nodded. There was an awkward pause. “Hey so uh, do you mind if I ask you a totally unrelated question? Might take your mind off it.” Akko doubted that.

“Sure.” She said.

“What happened between you and Diana last night?” Amanda asked. Akko paused. That was not the question she expected.

“We uh...went out for drinks.” Akko half-lied. It was absolutely not what Amanda was asking.

“Uh huh. Cool. And what did you talk about over these drinks?” Amanda asked. Akko sighed. She wasn't going to weasel her way out of it. It's not even like she could lie. Eventually the bet would come up, and she'd be stuck.

“We made a bet.” Akko said.

“About?”

“Who would win the tournament.” Akko answered. Amanda snorted.

“Hope you didn't bet anything important.” She said.

“Why?” Akko asked.

“Because we're gonna win it.” Amanda declared.

“That'd be the same as us winning.” Akko said. “For the bet, I mean.”

“Huh.” Amanda mused. “Clever girl. So what did you bet?” Akko winced slightly.

“A date.” She mumbled.

“A what?” Amanda asked.

“A date!” Akko replied, her voice a little too loud. A lot of people turned to look at them, and Akko shrunk in on herself. Amanda just stared at her.

“Okay, how the fuck does that work?” She asked.

“If we win, Diana and I are going on a date.” Akko explained. “If she wins, I'm doing her laundry for a week.”

“And...who's idea was all this?” Amanda asked. Akko paused. It wasn't exactly her idea. Well, she'd said it was a date. But Diana had asked.

“Uh...Diana's? Kind of?” Akko replied. Amanda cocked an eyebrow at her. “I suggested loser treats the winner to lunch. She asked if I was asking her on a date, and for some dumb reason I said yes.”

“Huh.” Amanda replied, turning to stare out at the crowds again. “Well damn. Guess we'll have to make sure you win.”

“Wait, what. Why? We don't have to do that.”

“Why not? Don't you want to go on a date with her?” Amanda asked. Akko paused.

“I do.” She admitted softly. For some reason she hadn't asked herself that question yet. She'd been viewing the date as something that was out of her control. The consequence of a mistake she'd made in the moment. But that was only partly true. Dealing with Diana for the next week with a maybe date looming over them was going to be horrible. But the date itself? Akko wanted that. She wanted to take Diana somewhere and get to actually talk to her. She'd had a nice time talking to her the night before. In fact, every conversation she'd had with her alone had been nice. Because Diana was nice.

“Well there you go. Gotta make sure you win.” Amanda declared, grinning. “That said...she might think you're upset.” Akko's train of thought came to an abrupt halt.

“Why?”

“I uh...might've implied as much to get under her skin.” Amanda explained. “But then she mentioned you talked last night and so I was curious. But hey like...this might work out in our favour, yeah?” Akko wasn't sure that was the case.

“I should go talk to her.” Akko declared.

“Oh no, no way.” Amanda replied. “You aren't doing anything like that.”

“Why not? She might think I hate her!” Akko exclaimed.

“And?” Amanda asked.

“I don't!” Akko replied. What about this was hard for Amanda to understand?

“Right, but what harm does it do if she thinks that for a bit? If she likes you, she'll try and fix it. And if she doesn't like you, then you learn the date would be a waste.” Amanda explained. “But if you jump in and try and fix it, you might seem too...y'know...interested. And that could scare her off.” Akko took a second to process all of this. It...made some sense. And Amanda did seem to know more about all of this then Akko did.

“Alright.” She huffed, leaning onto the wire again. “But if she does something stupid...”

“Then we can fix it.” Amanda agreed.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Diana sat with her head down on her keyboard, trying to piece everything together. Akko had been upset at her yesterday, apparently. She didn't seem upset. She seemed like her usual cheerful self. But then, why wouldn't she? She probably had a crush on Diana. That was the most likely reason she'd say yes to the date in the bet. And then what had Diana done? Confirmed Akko's insecurities about not being attractive, and told her she was straight. What an idiot she was. Of course Akko would be upset. She was walking off looking sad when Diana came back from the bathroom too. She'd probably been hiding how she was feeling since they were in the same room, and took this opportunity to slip away and express how she felt.

“Are you okay Diana?” Hannah asked uncertainly. Diana picked her head up and sighed.

“I'm well enough.” She replied. “Shall we practice?”

“Are you sure?” Barbara asked. “You seem kind of upset. Is it about something that happened last night?” Diana was about to blow them off, come up with an excuse and push to keep practising. But what good would that do? Amanda wasn't going to leave well enough alone. She wouldn't escape this situation. So the best thing she could do would be to keep her friends informed.

“It...isn't unrelated.” She replied with a heavy sigh. The two girls perked up slightly. Diana didn't express the wince she felt. She should really confide in them more.

“Well, what happened?” Hannah asked.

“Akko...” Diana trailed off, trying to decide how to explain this. She didn't want them to know about the possible date. Or the bet. “Expressed some interest. In me.” That should be vague enough, but carry the point.

“And you...don't like her?” Barbara offered. Diana shook her head.

“That isn't the issue.” Diana replied.

“So you do?” Hannah asked.

“I'm not sure. It doesn't matter right now. Because it seems I've upset her.”

“How?” Barbara asked.

“When she came back drunk the first night, I helped her into bed. She mentioned being concerned about not having pyjamas, since she thought she was making me uncomfortable. When I asked her why she thought that would be the case, she said it was because I was gay. I...told her I wasn't, and she said that was a shame, because I was pretty.” Diana explained.

“Which you are.” Hannah confirmed. “You useless fucking lesbian.”

“Why did you say that?” Barbara demanded.

“I...may have panicked in the moment a little.” Diana offered. It was a weak excuse, and from the look they were giving her, Hannah and Barbara knew it. “But anyway, getting her the pyjamas probably sent her a bad message. And given...how I responded to her interest, perhaps I've upset her even more.”

“Well, go talk with her.” Barbara suggested. Hannah nodded in agreement.

“That would be the smart thing to do.” She agreed. Diana hesitated.

“I should, yes.” She agreed.

“So, go do it.” Barbara urged.

“But...” She paused again, thinking it over. She still didn't know how she felt about Akko. If they won the bet it was a moot point anyway. Or, it might be a moot point. If she was interested, she could simply offer to take her to lunch anyway. And if they lost? Well, it might not matter if Akko was upset now. She had asked for the date, and she didn't seem to have changed her mind yet. What was the worst case? Akko was so angry she didn't take Diana up on the offer of a date, but Diana did like her? That somehow seemed unlikely. And if Diana decided Akko wasn't someone she liked enough, it wouldn't matter if Akko were mad.

“I appreciate your help.” Diana said finally. “But I think it would be best if I waited before doing anything. I will let you know when I decide to speak with her.” Barbara and Hannah both sighed.

“Fine.” Barbara said.

“But you better talk to us about this.” Hannah added.

“I will.” Diana agreed. “Now, shall we play something?”

 

**\---LOTTE---**

 

Avoiding acknowledging Akko had actually proven to be surprisingly easy. Lotte had expected to struggle with it, but she hadn't. In some ways, it was relieving to not have to respond to Akko's bullshit. She wasn't actually all that angry at Akko right now. She'd blown off most of her steam last night, and in the morning she'd just found herself irritated. But Akko hadn't bothered to try and fix it last night, so she wanted a tiny bit of revenge. She'd go and talk to her after lunch time, and get things back on track. Until then, she'd enjoy the peace.

“Hey Sucy, I'm going to go look at some of the stands.” Lotte announced, as she stood up. Sucy looked up at her. The two stared at each other for a moment. “Do you want to come?” Lotte added finally.

“I suppose.” Sucy answered. She didn't seem nearly as reluctant as she sounded, and Lotte got the feeling she'd been hoping for this. Lotte smiled.

“Great. Let's go.” She announced, heading for the exit. Sucy got up, and followed along behind her. They passed the blue team, who were playing a game of Magical Burst. The green team had all scattered off into the event already. Amanda had asked them where Akko had gotten off to, so she was presumably off looking for her, but the other two were a mystery. Well, a bit of a mystery. Lotte would happily bet Jasminka was looking for snacks, and that Constanze was checking out some of the new tech that was on display.

The rest of the event was madness. A lot of it was comprised of massive rows of desks, each with a computer set up, and someone settled in playing. Groups of people wandered about, moving around to talk to people they knew. Or didn't know, Lotte supposed. Random mingling with people playing the same games as you was common at events like this. The show floors weren't any better. There was a lot of stalls set up, providing demos of games that were awaiting release. Lotte didn't care much for most of them, but it was interesting to walk around and look at them.

“Hey Sucy, what kinds of games do you play?” Lotte asked as they passed another game that Sucy showed no interest in. Sucy shrugged.

“Dunno. Whatever seems funny to me.” She replied idly.

“Funny? Like...” Lotte trailed off, trying to think of an example. “Saints Row?” She finally suggested. Sucy shrugged.

“I guess.” She answered. “I was thinking like...Goat Simulator.” Lotte nodded.

“Oh, cool.” She replied. She'd never played Goat Simulator, but she remembered when it was hyped up.

“What about you?” Sucy asked.

“I really like RPGs.” Lotte answered.

“Like Skyrim?”

“More like...Dragon Age. You know, long plots with choices and romance options.” Lotte explained.

“I should've seen that coming.” Sucy muttered. Lotte smiled.

“Probably.” She agreed. She was kind of a stereotype in that regard. As they talked they'd walked past a few more games, before Sucy came to an abrupt halt, staring at a screen on one of stands. It was showing a game that had...a goose? Lotte stopped and watched too. The goose appeared to be the player character for the game. It was running around terrorising people. Sucy watched a moment longer, before chuckling.

“This looks like fun.” She said. Lotte glanced around, before spotting the game's name.

“Untitled Goose Game.” She read out. “That's...an interesting name.”

“It's a great name. I'm getting this game.” Sucy announced. Lotte smiled.

“Well, when it comes out, you should let me watch you play.” She replied. Sucy gave her a cautious look.

“Sure.” She replied, a little tersely. Lotte kept smiling, but she was a little concerned. Had she upset Sucy? “Let's keep going.” They walked a bit further, and crossed into the VR section. Lotte was frustrated by VR. It sounded really cool, but her glasses wouldn't fit under most headsets, and her eyes were bad enough that she'd probably still need them.

“Is there anything here you want to try out?” Lotte asked, as they wandered around.

“Not really.” Sucy replied. Most of the stalls here were for demonstrations of VR experiences. The biggest one was a Gravity Rush experience, probably because of the Magical Burst tournament. It had a few wind tunnels, with people with headsets floating there. Sucy and Lotte walked over to look at the screens that showed what was going on. Lotte immediately felt sick at what she saw. It was a VR experience of doing gravity shifting, allowing the player to direct themselves to drop in any direction. There appeared to be some enemies to fight as well as rings to fall through, but Lotte wasn't entirely sure. Mostly because she couldn't bare to look at the screen for long. Seeing how suddenly down would just change, and the motion would shift made her too sick to keep looking.

“Why would anyone do this?” Sucy wondered aloud.

“I don't know. Can we go look at anything else?” Lotte asked. Sucy nodded.

“Yeah.” She agreed. They moved on, looking at the other things on offer. Most of them didn't appeal to either of them. Then Lotte spotted something she knew she had to do.

“Oh my god.” She said softly.

“Huh?”

“Look!” Lotte pointed at the stall ahead of them, covered in Nightfall posters.

“Oh, right.” Sucy replied. She obviously didn't get it. Lotte didn't care. She stormed forward, and stared at the screen. It was showing a demo reel of some of the experiences on offer. You could be part of some of the best scenes. Some of them were clearly just moments to watch, but others really put you into the moment. Another screen showed what the person currently demoing the experience was doing. Lotte let out a soft squeal as she saw it. They were from the perspective of Belle, dancing with Edgar at the ball from volume 54. The details were perfect.

“I need to do this.” Lotte announced.

“Then do it? There's not really a line.” Sucy replied. Lotte shook her head.

“My glasses get in the way.” She explained. “And I can't see much without them.” Sucy nodded, but didn't say anything. Lotte didn't blame her. What could be said? She'd need to get contact lenses to be able to do it. That or modified glasses, but where would she find them? She couldn't exactly make them herself. Lotte paused. She might know someone who could though.

 

**\---URSULA---**

 

Ursula had a newfound respect for her old coaches. She'd been with Luna Nova for a few years now, but this was the first time she'd been coaching the main teams. As such it was the first time she found herself travelling to supervise the team. She was in charge of nine girls. She knew where precisely three of them were. Except she didn't know if they were still there, she could only assume, as she'd seen them playing Magical Burst, and guessed they weren't going to leave before the game was over.

Unfortunately, they lacked support staff, and Ursula hadn't bothered to teach any of the girls how to prepare for the other teams. So she found herself performing the support role. While everyone else was off having fun, she sat in the crowd with her note book, watching the games intently, and making notes. She'd gone over the replays for the blue team last night. Once she had some notes on the other teams' opponents, she'd go and chat with them about the plan. After finding everyone else.

Ursula obviously didn't have a complete picture of how everyone was doing right now, but she had a general sense that something was afoot. Lotte was clearly avoiding Akko, presumably because of Akko's picks last night. There was also clearly something going on between Akko and Diana. Ursula assumed it was the reason Diana had been acting strangely yesterday. Whatever had been on her mind seemed to be largely resolved however. Now they just stole the occasional glance at each other when they thought no one was looking. Ursula doubted they even realised they were doing it. She certainly hadn't when she was in love.

That said, there was clearly something more than just a brewing crush going on. Amanda had headed over to the bathroom immediately after Diana, and Ursula doubted that was coincidence. And Barbara and Hannah seemed to be acting very slightly suspiciously, like they were plotting something as well. Whatever was going on, one thing was clear. It wasn't Ursula's business, and she didn't intend to interfere if it wasn't impacting their games. And right now, it didn't seem to be, so she was going to leave well enough alone. They were teenagers, they were meant to be awkward and work things out for themselves. Perhaps she'd reach out and touch base to let them know she was there, if they wanted to talk. But somehow she doubted it would help any.

The last game came to an end, and Ursula looked down at her notes. She'd worked out early who was going to win, and focused her notes on them. Even so, their opponents had a significant section written down, just in case. The next game would be a breeze for the blue team, but the green and red teams might be in some trouble. The red team was facing the Aurochs. They had a rather eclectic, aggressive style. They never picked any supports, favouring instead to run an AD carry in each lane, and a tanky jungler. They built purely for the early game, neglecting the scaling potential of AD carries in favour of packing as much of a punch in lane to bully people out. It wasn't going to get them far, but it was crazy enough it might work against Akko.

The green team meanwhile was against Team PH(Not Sponsored Yet). They had actually put the not sponsored yet into their team name. Though they refused to say what PH stood for, their distinctive orange and black team colours were a pretty big hint. Ursula was conflicted on if she thought this was funny or just crude. Judging by the manner in which the team conducted themselves in interviews, they were clearly just a group of guys having fun. She ended up settling on funny. Regardless of how she felt though, the team posed a bit of a threat to the green team. The central hero they used was Exalted Equestrian. Amanda struggled against her. She was a good counter to Shooting Star, and Amanda refused to listen to Ursula's instructions on how to be careful of her. As a result, Amanda got caught out a lot. They ran Ancient Witch in two games, primarily as a support. Her ultimate created a difficult environment for the enemy to try and face off against Exalted Equestrian. Their final pick was the most variable, and Ursula guessed they would simply use it to counter pick and support Equestrian better. Ursula had the ban list worked out before the end of the second game.

Her notes were the best they'd get for today. At least until she could re-watch the replays in the hotel. With nothing better to do, she headed over to the blue team. They were where she'd left them, still playing Magical Burst. Ursula settled in to watch quietly. Diana was playing Moonlit Witch, and it was clear they weren't doing ranked. Their opponents weren't doing particularly well. Diana was doing worse. She was using one of Akko's builds, but her judgement on which form to draw on, and how to combine her abilities was off. She combined the abilities into the same combos that Akko used, but they never quite worked out. She was trying to keep her calm, but Ursula could sense the frustration.

She couldn't blame Diana for being frustrated. To an outsider Akko's style – Chariot's style – was quite simple. In practice however, there was a lot of nuance to it. The big question for Moonlit Witch was less which abilities to use, and more which ones not to use. It was a careful balancing act of determining what was just enough to accomplish your goal, without being wasteful. Diana was definitely embracing the mindset of not being wasteful. Every dash crossed over enemies, every wall knocked them up, every arrow hit. But that wasn't the optimal way to use them. Sometimes the wall was better used to block the enemies escape. A dash was better used to reposition, or an arrow to zone. Diana's obsession with landing every spell cost her fights, and it was clear she couldn't understand why. The game didn't last much longer. They lost fairly quickly, mostly on the back of Diana feeding the enemy. Once it was done, Diana removed her headset and sighed.

“I think I'm not going to bother with Moonlit Witch.” She declared. “She doesn't feel very good.” Ursula smiled softly at that excuse. She'd heard it often, mostly from people who didn't quite understand how she worked.

“She is quite difficult.” Ursula remarked. Diana jumped, and turned to look at her, before letting out a soft sigh of relief.

“I didn't hear you come up behind us coach Ursula.” She explained.

“I understand. You were focused on the game. Are you going to play here the whole time?” Ursula asked. Diana nodded a little.

“We had planned to, yes.” She answered. “Why?”

“I was just wondering. Though you should go and look around a bit. There's lots of interesting things here, and it'd be a shame to waste the trip just playing the same game you always do.” Ursula replied. Diana hesitated.

“I suppose you're right.” She relented. “Was that all?”

“No, I also wanted to give you your notes for tomorrow's game.” Ursula replied, holding up the notepad she'd filled with her thoughts. “It's a suggested list of map picks and bans, as well as what to expect from each player, and how I think you can best handle it.”

“Thank you. Was that everything?” Diana asked. Ursula smiled and nodded.

“Of course. Do you want to go look around the stalls together?” She offered. She expected to be told no.

“That sounds nice.” Diana replied instead. Ursula blinked. Then she smiled again.

“Well, let's get going I suppose!” She announced.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

None of the stalls caught Diana's attention. Hannah and Barbara both found things to be excited over. Even Ursula seemed interested in a few games. Diana was curious to see that she seemed to show a preference for turn-based games. There wasn't any apparent theme to her interest beyond that. Nothing that Diana saw there looked worth her time. She wasn't surprised, platformers and VNs didn't get much attention, and she had a guilt problem. Most of the time she spent playing games she had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. It was time she could spend playing Magical Burst instead, and working on improving one of her heroes. It was rare that she found time where she could play without the guilt. It was probably why she didn't play many games, if she was being honest.

They moved through the majority of the stalls, and into the VR section. Barbara seemed to have seen something she was interested in, judging by the way she was acting somewhat awkward. Whatever it was, she didn't appear to be ready to share. Not that Diana could blame her. She hadn't exactly set a strong trend of sharing within the group.

“Do any of you want to try the Gravity Rush experience?” Ursula asked.

“There's a Gravity Rush experience?” Diana asked. She hadn't bothered to look up the VR experiences on display here. It was, in her opinion, a gimmick that wouldn't expand beyond it's niche. Not for a while yet at least.

“It uses wind tunnels to let you float, so you can feel like you're flying around.” Ursula explained. That was definitely a gimmick. It also sounded sickening. Diana couldn't imagine why anyone would want that. But it was here, and it would be an experience.

“I wouldn't mind trying it for a few minutes.” Diana conceded finally.

“It sounds alright.” Hannah agreed.

“Will it be on all week?” Barbara asked. “Actually, is everything going to be on all week?”

“I believe so, yes.” Ursula answered. The four of them walked around to check it out. There were four tubes all up, each currently occupied, with a few screens attached to each to show what was going on inside the game of each. Diana paused by one to watch what was happening. There was a guy inside, floating in the air. In each hand he had a typical VR controller, while on each leg he had strapped a large bracelet-like device. Judging from the way the character moved on the screen, the bracelets controlled their legs, as he flew awkwardly, trying to kick at enemies he passed. It looked ridiculous, Diana thought, and she decided against going in. It'd just be a waste of her time.

“Is that Akko?” Hannah asked loudly. Diana tried not to groan. Akko was wearing shorts today. She didn't know why Akko had brought shorts to Scotland in the winter, but it worked out, as the convention centre was quite warm. She looked over. Sure enough Akko was standing in the entrance to one of the tunnels, getting everything set up. Once she was done, she stepped inside, along with one of the attendants, who helped her get up, into the air, and stable. Once she was stable, they lowered her headset, and stepped out to let her go.

“Do you wanna go watch?” Barbara asked, giving Diana a very pointed smile. Diana sighed.

“Yes.” She said reluctantly. Ursula glanced at her for a second, and Diana expected her to say something, but she didn't. They walked over to stand by the tunnel and watch. Akko was awkward at first, not really comfortable with moving too much. On the screen, Diana could see that Kat was floating in the middle of a largely empty space. She was somewhere about Hekseville, between Auldnoir and Pleajeune, Diana figured. She was a little embarrassed by how she could recognise the skyline of Hekseville like that. There was a series of rings nearby, providing Akko with a clear direction of where to go.

Akko pointed the VR controller in the direction she wanted, and on screen she began falling towards it. There was also a screen showing her view. It was terrifying, as she fell towards the town below. Akko however didn't seem phased. If anything, she was enjoying it, judging by the giant grin on her face, and the way she rolled in the air. Diana smiled a little. It seemed Akko had played Gravity Rush too, as she was performing very similar movements to those Kat did in the game.

For a few minutes Akko simply flew. It was kind of relaxing to watch, Diana thought. No where near as distracting as she'd imagined. And then Akko ran into some enemies. She spun in the air as she dived towards one of them, thrusting a leg out to kick it. Diana winced slightly at how much she enjoyed the sight of Akko's legs in here. Watching was a mistake. She should have said no. Though there was one good thing about this. She was definitely going to say yes to the date. She could work out how she felt later. She needed the chance to kiss this girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments etc appreciated as always!


	24. Chapter Twenty-two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be totally honest, writing the game took so much brain power I've actually forgotten what went into this chapter. So uh...enjoy! Hopefully!

**\---AKKO---**

 

The Gravity Rush experience had actually been really cool. Akko was surprised when she looked down, and saw that she was playing as Kat. Though it did help her understand the point a bit more, and so she ended up having a great time flipping through the air and kicking Nevi. Once she got out, she met up with Amanda, and promptly ran into the blue team and Ursula. Akko wasn't too sure how she should handle Diana right now. She thought Akko was mad at her. Should she keep acting normally? Or pretend she was mad? What if Diana was mad? Akko figured she'd wait, and see how Diana was acting. That was an easy solution.

“How was it?” Diana asked. She seemed tense. That made sense. She was probably just worried.

“It was great!” Akko replied. “But I was really confused when I saw I was Kat. Why is it called Gravity Rush if it's got Kat in it?”

“Because that's the name of the game she's from?” Amanda said. Akko frowned, and looked over at Amanda.

“No? It's called Gravity Daze.” She said.

“It's definitely Gravity Rush.” Diana added.

“No way!” Akko exclaimed. “Here, look.” She reached into her pocket, and fumbled around a second before pulling out her phone. She quickly pulled up Google, and typed in “Gravity Daze”. She flipped over to images, and pulled up one of the game cover, before showing it to the group.

“That's fake.” Amanda declared.

“No! It's what it's called!” Akko insisted. Diana frowned a little, and pulled out her phone too. She took a moment, before holding up her phone. Akko leaned forward and peered at it. It had a copy of the Gravity Daze cover, but with the title “Gravity Rush”.

“Huh?” Akko said. Diana sighed.

“It was Gravity Daze in Japan, and then was localised as Gravity Rush in the west.” She explained. “So everyone is right.”

“Oh, cool. Thanks Diana!” Akko exclaimed. Diana pointedly looked away, and raised a hand to her face, brushing her hair behind her ear.

“It's nothing. Shall we head back?” She asked. “It's about time to eat lunch.”

 

The group walked back to the Twitch Lounge, to find the others had also returned. Lotte was practically begging Constanze for something.

“Please! I need it more than I've needed anything else!” She practically wailed. Constanze was looking at her very uncomfortably.

“What's going on here?” Amanda asked as they approached.

“I need Constanze's help, but she's not answering me!” Lotte explained. Amanda nodded.

“Cons, why don't you want to help?” She asked. Constanze pointed firmly at Lotte, followed by a few other brief gestures. Akko had no idea what they meant, but it seemed Amanda understood. “She doesn't know what you want from her.” Amanda announced suddenly. Lotte went silent for a moment, clearly thinking.

“Oh.” She said softly. Beside her Sucy snickered.

“I was wondering when you'd notice.” She remarked.

“Sucy! Why didn't you say something?”

“It's more fun this way.”

“So, what do you want help with anyway?” Amanda asked.

“There's a Nightfall VR stall!” Lotte began. “But I can't do it with my glasses, so I was hoping Constanze could modify a pair for me to fit under the headset!” Constanze blinked. Then she gave a thumbs up. “You'll do it? Oh my god, thank you so much!” Hannah snickered.

“Nightfall VR? What kind of loser likes Nightfall, right Barbara?” She asked. Barbara laughed nervously.

“Yeah, those trashy novels? You'd have to be pretty pathetic to like those.” She agreed. Lotte turned to look at them, her gaze dark. Hannah and Barbara shrunk back a step.

“Anyway, we're going to get lunch!” Hannah declared, grabbing Barbara's arm. The two of them hurried off quickly. Akko found herself kind of intimidated by the look Lotte gave them too. She wasn't exactly in her good books right now either. Lotte turned towards Akko, and took a few steps forward. Akko shrunk back another step.

“Uh, hey Lotte. Nice...weather today?” She babbled, before laughing nervously. Lotte walked right up to Akko and stopped.

“I'm sorry for ignoring you.” Lotte said. Akko blinked.

“Huh?”

“I said, I'm sorry for ignoring you.” Lotte repeated. Akko relaxed.

“Oh. It's okay. I guess I deserved it after all.” She replied. Lotte nodded a little. Good sign. “Um, I'm sorry we went out without you last night...” Lotte stared at her, and sighed.

“It's okay Akko. I wouldn't have wanted to go out anyway.” She said. She seemed disappointed. Like she wanted something else. So what had made her mad originally? Was it how recklessly Akko played? Maybe. That didn't seem likely though. So what?

“Um...and...I'm sorry for...” She thought a little longer. Had Lotte said anything? Not really. She'd only really talked about the picks. In which she'd said not to pick Lightwarden. “I'm sorry for not listening to you and picking Lightwarden!” Akko exclaimed. Lotte smiled.

“Thank you.” She said simply, before stepping forward and hugging Akko. Akko hugged her back.

“Am I forgiven?” Akko asked hesitantly.

“Yes.” Lotte said softly. Akko grinned.

“You're the best Lotte!”

 

**\---URSULA---**

 

Ursula was glad Akko and Lotte had made up. She'd expected they would, of course. Lotte was a sweet girl, who probably couldn't hold a grudge to save her life, and Akko was good-natured enough to try and fix whatever went wrong. There was of course new problems on the team. Ursula couldn't be surprised. You put a group of eighteen year old girls with that kind of competitive spirit in close proximity and force them to stay there, you're bound to get some drama. Diana seemed to be butting heads with both Akko and Amanda.

Amanda was clearly the worst offender here. Whatever she had done, Diana was positively icy towards her. Amanda was completely ignored when talking exclusively to Diana, and given only the most curt of responses when it was necessary. Amanda didn't seem particularly fussed by this. If anything she appeared to find it funny.

Akko and Diana meanwhile just had an air of awkward tension between them. Something was clearly going on between them, and neither of them knew just what to do about it. At first Ursula had been concerned, but the longer she watched the more apparent it became they were just crushing on each other. It was cute, though Ursula couldn't imagine how it had happened. The two had little in common, beyond their passion for Magical Burst. But then again, Ursula had been in a similar situation herself, and it had worked out for a time. Perhaps they'd be the same. Perhaps they'd be better. She hoped they'd be better. She didn't want to lose one of them. They were both excellent players, and wonderful girls.

Thankfully, the rest of the team seemed to be doing largely okay. The rest of the day passed relatively uneventfully. Everyone hung out, watched games, checked out stalls, or just played things. For her part, Ursula continued to scout what she could. Most of the teams here weren't very good. Appleton however, was doing very well. They were pegged as the favourites to win the tournament. They'd done a few interviews, all of which Ursula had watched, despite only playing one game thus far. In all of them, they'd seemed pretentious. Except for Frank, he seemed okay. Ursula was glad that they were on track to face the blue team. If there was any team she could count on to beat Appleton, it was them. And she very much wanted to see Appleton beaten.

But before that, they'd have to get there. So Ursula spent the night reviewing the matches for the green and red team, taking notes, and composing strategies. She was up late into the night. To her absolute lack of surprise, the rest of the girls were all still awake, and online on their various social platforms. She fired off a message to each telling them to sleep, before going to bed herself.

The bed was heaven. Every time she crashed into it, Ursula was grateful to Amanda for deciding to let her have it to herself. She knew there was some ulterior motive to that move, but in this moment she didn't care. The bed was huge, and Ursula could spread out without touching any of the sides. She could definitely get used to this. Perhaps she could get a new bed back home, if they won something significant.

That was a big if though. The girls were good, no doubt, but this was a small event, mostly populated by amateurs. The major events would have the actual professional teams there. And if they were already ready for that then...well, they wouldn't have applied to Luna Nova. Except Akko, of course. She wouldn't be accepted anywhere else anyway. It was only by the good graces of Holbrooke that she'd made it into Luna Nova. That, and Ursula's promise to coach her.

That promise had backfired, as she'd ended up being put in charge of all three teams. She didn't mind, the practice teams were being trained by the other coaches, and from what Ursula had seen, they were being worked hard. Ursula taking the main teams was a mercy to them, really. Ursula shook her head a little, trying to drive the thoughts out. She needed to sleep, and stop letting her mind wander. After all, when she did, it regularly drifted back to her days at Luna Nova.

Ursula rolled over, and curled up. Sleep. No more thinking. Just sleep. And hopefully no dreams. She closed her eyes, and sleep took her soon. But unfortunately, the dreams were there, and tonight they were particularly insistent.

 

The blue team was in the first game the next day. As predicted, they stomped. They didn't even show that much. The first game they brought the same composition as the first day, and destroyed with it. The second, they actually switched things up, though not by much. Diana took the Gravity Queen, while Hannah stuck to her Rapture Ranger, and Barbara brought her Lightwarden. The second game was just as much of a stomp. Ursula wasn't surprised. It was basically expected.

“Well that was boring.” Amanda complained as the game ended. Ursula didn't entirely disagree.

“It's better boring than them losing.” She replied. “Besides, some people enjoy watching games that are stomps. They'll win some fans like this.”

“I guess.” Amanda grumbled. “Still seems boring.”

“At a tournament like this, boring doesn't matter. All they're here for is to win.” Ursula said. Amanda was frustrating. She had a particular mindset about the game that was difficult to coach for. She viewed the games in terms of glory. The priority was kills, and looking cool. The fact that kills could lead to the win was a happy side-effect to that. It was a mindset that Ursula had once had to deal with herself, and it was one that eventually killed careers, if it wasn't overcome. The problem was trying to correct it in someone as talented as Amanda. She'd gotten to where she had on the back of that mentality. It'd refined her into an excellent team fighter, and an even better ganker. But inevitably, everyone would get to know that's what she was, and they'd stop falling for it. The go-to strategy to face her would become “play safe, win late” and her career would be over. Unless Ursula could snap her out of it soon. But to do that, she first needed Amanda to suffer for it, and right now, she'd only been rewarded. Eventually she'd face the blue team however, and things would change. Or someone else. It didn't matter. So long as she lost, and soon, it'd be okay.

Amanda wasn't alone in that though. Everyone had a problem with their mentality that Ursula would have to correct eventually. But she'd handle it one step at a time, and Amanda's was the worst, and easiest to end up correcting. Akko would probably take the longest, but if she threw herself into the Arcturus lessons, she'd be okay.

“Well, I'm gonna go fuck about.” Amanda declared, climbing to her feet. The rest of her team followed. Ursula looked over to the red team.

“Are you leaving too?”

“No way! This is where the games get good!” Akko replied. Ursula smiled.

“Well, that's good. Maybe you can help me prepare notes for the blue team.”

“Pass.” Sucy said immediately.

“I'd like to help...” Lotte offered. “I've been wanting to learn how to make good notes.”

“I'd be happy to teach you.” Ursula replied. “Though, during this game I don't think I'll be able to do much, but you might learn a thing or two just trying.”

“Oh hey! It's the interview! I wonder if Diana will actually be there this time.” Akko declared. Ursula turned her attention back to the screen. Smix was standing with the entire blue team this time.

“Thanks Tastosis, I'm here with Luna Nova Blue, to talk about the game they just completed. So, White Witch, this is the first time I've gotten to talk to you here. How are you feeling about Luna Nova's chances overall?” Smix asked, offering the microphone to Diana, who kept her usual, impassive expression.

“I don't imagine we'll be losing anyone before the round of eight.” Diana replied. “Unfortunately after that we will have to lose either the red or green team, but I'm confident whoever emerges victorious will go far.”

“Any speculation on who that will be?” Smix asked.

“It's no secret that the red team won the last time they played in a serious way, but that was a single game, and they've both practised hard since. I'm afraid I'm in no position to give you an accurate answer, nor do I believe anyone is. Though I have no doubt both will say they'll win.” Diana answered diplomatically. Ursula smiled at little, proud at how well she was handling it. The interview wasn't about to win her the fans that Amanda's were, but it was solid. And ultimately, Diana's appeal would come from her being all around excellent.

“So we can expect some great matches from them, awesome.”

“I believe so, yes.”

“So, the big favourites for the tournament are Appleton. You're on track to face them in the round of four if you both get there. Do you have any thoughts on that?” Smix asked.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about it a little, but it's all idle fantasy. I'm saving the majority of my thoughts for the next match. When I face Appleton, then I'll think about how to win.” Diana replied.

“Do you think you can beat them?”

“I have no doubt we can. I'm not certain that we will. However, I doubt Appleton is equipped to handle all three of Luna Nova's teams, and I'm confident that even if we lose, which I doubt, that whoever they face next will defeat them.” Diana replied. She paused, and looked directly to the camera. “Of course, if they don't, I won't be too upset. I'll have the consolation prize of you doing my laundry after all Akko.” Ursula glanced over, to see Akko squirming in her seat, a strange expression on her face. It was equal parts embarrassed and excited.

“What's that about, if I may ask?” Smix probed.

“Oh, Akko and I made a bet about who would win. If we lose early though, the team that beat us still counts. So if we all lose to Appleton, I win the bet.” Diana replied. “It's just some friendly banter within the team of course.”

“Awesome. Well, I think that's all the time we have for today. Any closing remarks for your fans?”

“Thank you for your support. I hope that we'll provide even better games for you to watch in the future.” Diana said calmly. The interview wrapped up, and the blue team walked over to join the rest of the team.

“You were so cool in the interview Diana.” Hannah chirped as they approached.

“Super cool!” Barbara agreed.

“Nonsense, I was just responding to her questions to reflect well on Luna Nova.” Diana replied.

“Hello girls. That was very good Diana.” Ursula said, as they approached. “The winners of the next match will be your opponents for the next round. Would you like to watch it with us and try and learn how to take notes?”

“That would be wonderful, thank you.” Diana replied. She looked at Akko, and for a second her gaze lingered. Ursula glanced over at Akko. She was doing the same. Then they both looked away, and the blue team settled on the opposite side of her. Girls crushing on each other were ridiculous.

 

**\---LOTTE---**

 

The lessons from Ursula had actually been really interesting. She hadn't been able to learn a lot, since Ursula was focused primarily on taking the notes, but she'd tried to keep up with her own notes, and in the end they'd mostly touched on the same things. There were some more advanced things that Ursula had noted about how the enemy liked to position themselves that had completely slipped past Lotte. She'd seen each individual moment, but the pattern hadn't sunk in, and she'd neglected to note it. She did catch a few small details in the laning phase that Ursula had missed however.

Once the match was over, there wasn't much more to do for the next hour. The two matches that followed wouldn't need to be studied until they had a better idea of who got through, so the team killed time around the stalls once more until it was time for their match. Shortly after lunch time it was time for the red team to play. They reconvened in front of their booth. Ursula was there as well, along with the green and blue teams.

“Okay girls, I've prepared some notes for you for this match. It has a map pick flowchart, which I want you to follow to the letter, and then some recommended team compositions, and what to pick in response to their picks. Finally, Akko, I've made a special build for you for this match. When you get in there take a minute to set up this rune page please, it will make your lane so much easier.” Ursula explained, as she handed them the notes.

“Got it!” Akko replied. “Is that it?”

“For this match, yes. Best of luck!” Ursula replied.

“Knock em dead!” Amanda cheered.

“Good luck.” Jasminka agreed. Constanze just gave them a thumbs up.

“Don't be a total disappointment today.” Hannah said.

“At least win one game please.” Barbara added. Lotte grimaced. It was...about as nice as one could expect from them.

“Do be careful not to drag your friends down with you Akko.” Diana said. “If you lose here the green team will be playing your opponents, and I don't think our arrangement extends that far. It would be a shame to see you disqualified.” What arrangement was she talking about?

“Would that mean we forget about it?” Akko asked.

“I believe it would mean you lost.” Diana replied simply.

“Oh...well, good thing we're going to win this match!” Akko declared. “Let's go!”

“Right!” Lotte agreed. The three girls turned, and stepped into the booth to get settled in. Lotte looked up out the windows. The team had moved away already, probably to get settled in themselves. That was okay.

“Do you want me to handle map picks?” Sucy offered.

“I can handle it.” Akko replied.

“Are you sure? You need to set up your runes don't you?” Sucy added. Akko paused.

“Oh, yeah, I guess I do. Do you mind doing it?” She asked.

“It would be my pleasure.” Sucy replied. That was oddly positive of her. She snatched the notebook off Akko, and flipped through to the flowchart. Oh, that made sense. She didn't trust Akko to follow it. Lotte turned her attention back to getting set up. The map bans passed quickly, and soon they were getting into the first match. It was on Blue Moon Abyss.

“Akko, please be careful this time.” Lotte pleaded softly.

“I will!” Akko replied. The notebook had been placed beside her, but she hadn't looked at it yet. Lotte was worried she wasn't going to look at it at all, beyond picking out her build. At least she'd done that much. The game began loading, and they jumped into hero picks. Immediately Akko locked in the Moonlit Witch. There was a short delay while the enemy picked their first hero. Then it was revealed. Rapture Ranger. The enemy got first pick, and locked in Calamity Cowgirl too.

“Okay, what do you want me to pick for you?” Akko asked. She looked over at Lotte as she said this.

“Um...what are you thinking Sucy?” Lotte asked.

“Maybe, Crimson Lady and Loyal Defender?” Sucy suggested. Lotte chewed her lip, trying to envision the synergy. There were better combos certainly.

“Is that in the notes?” She asked. Sucy nodded.

“Right here.” She picked up the notes and held them out, pointing at a spot. Lotte took the notes, and quickly skimmed over them.

 

_They like to put the more aggressive carry into the duo lane, where they can try and steal a kill on a weaker target. LD isn't squishy, so she doesn't present an easy target. CL can sustain by fighting, and has strong escape. They're probably you're safest picks. FA is a fine alternative for LD if she isn't an option._

 

“Okay, give me Loyal Defender.” Lotte declared. Akko locked it in with a few seconds left. She immediately followed up with a Crimson Lady pick. The picks went over to the enemy team again, who after a short pause, picked out Fist of Justice. She was a pretty tanky jungler, with nasty gap closer that made her a solid ganker. She'd give them grief in lane, but probably give Akko even more problems. But Ursula had surely accounted for it. Everything would be okay. The notes sat between Akko and Sucy, where they could both check them, and pass on what Lotte needed to know.

“Hey Lotte.” Sucy called.

“Yes?”

“Do you want the notes?”

“Don't you need them?” Lotte asked.

“I can't focus on them while I CS.” Sucy replied.

“Oh, yes please.” Lotte said. The notes were passed across Akko's head, and came to rest between Lotte and Akko. She glanced at them. There was a lot of stuff here, including a comprehensive list of gank times, suggested builds, and even some diagrams on how to take fights. Ursula's notes were really impressive. There was no way this could go wrong.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Throughout the picks, Diana had been tentatively impressed. Akko appeared to be following the notes she'd been given. For most people, this wouldn't be an achievement, but for Akko, it was worthy of some praise. The game began to load, and Tastosis speculated about what to expect from this game. The conclusion they came to was that they simply couldn't guess what Akko was going to do. Diana smiled a tiny bit. For all her eclectic, selfish ways, Akko was in her own way doing Luna Nova proud.

Then the game loaded in. Akko spawned in as rod form, and promptly bought an AD item, swapping her to bow form. Diana had skimmed the notes, curious to see the build Akko was supposed to do. It was a rod/axe combo. The bow wasn't meant to be part of it.

“Oh no, Akko...” Ursula groaned.

“Figures she wouldn't listen.” Barbara declared.

“Of course, she has to find a new way to bring shame to the school.” Hannah agreed. Diana sighed. She couldn't entirely disagree with them.

“Hey, lay off her why don't you? She knows what she's doing.” Amanda snapped.

“Somehow I doubt she does.” Diana replied. “Something the two of you have in common, it seems.”

“Whatever.” Amanda retorted.

“Diana's right.” Ursula said. “About Akko, I mean.” She added quickly.

“Huh?” Amanda asked.

“I'm sure Akko thinks she knows what she's doing, but she has no idea how bad this build is going to be in this game.” Ursula replied, before sighing. “Oh well, girls, get ready to take notes. This is going to be painful to watch.” Diana nodded, and dutifully got her notepad ready. Barbara and Hannah would probably enjoy watching the red team fail, but she certainly wasn't about to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes when it's not 3am, you know the drill by now I'm sure.


	25. Chapter Twenty-three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh...the next chapter's a bit short. And I wrote basically the entire thing in one day. But you don't care about that I'm sure, because we're now past 100k words! And wow has basically nothing happened so far in the grand scheme of things like geez what am I doing.
> 
> I have a new desk set up kind of so hopefully my net productivtiy will be going up this week for it! Now just to avoid the trap of spending all that productivity on playing Rainbow Six instead. If I do, with luck I'll be putting out more chapters faster.
> 
> Until the next one, I do hope you all enjoy, and don't forget to leave comments because I live for your validation!

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko wasn't too sure what the point of the build Ursula had given her was. She could see how the pieces fit together, of course. She'd played every combo there was, and she knew how to use them. She just wasn't sure why Ursula would give her such an early game build against a team with so much late game potential. So she decided to ignore it, and go with the other build Ursula had created for her. The bow/rod W build was perfect for a game like this. Nice and defensive, with enough potential for aggression to secure an early kill or two. It'd let her scale into the late game, and keep up with the enemy team. Ursula must have watched games where they did something different. That was okay though, Akko could handle this twist. She was a genius.

She headed out to her lane, and waited under the tower. The enemy team had a jungler after all, so she could find herself in a 2v1 if she moved too far forward. And Akko was too smart to fall for that! She'd sit tight right here under the tower, and wait for the minions. She didn't have to wait long, and soon she was advancing up. Across the lane from her, Rapture Ranger was doing the same. So there hadn't been a gank after all. Better safe than sorry though.

The two of them got settled into the rhythm of the lane, dancing back and forth. They hadn't even reached the first last hit when someone emerged from the tree-line below Akko. The bottom lane, Akko's lane, didn't have much in the way of bushes, but there was a sizeable area of trees on the bottom of the map, with the usual pathways through them. Fist of Justice had slipped into the trees before minions spawned, and now she was behind Akko, coming in for a gank.

Akko swapped to rod form, and threw her W onto FoJ. She was the big threat here. Rapture Ranger never had a spell at level 1, so she couldn't do much. FoJ turned into a rabbit, and hopped towards the tower, trying to stay in front of Akko's escape. Akko was faster though, she'd make it. Then Rapture Ranger fired her Rain of Arrows at Akko. Immediately Akko was slowed.

“Oh no.” Akko cried. Rapture had bought an Ice Blade. Who bought an Ice Blade as the opening item for a carry? That didn't scale at all! The slow was enough, and soon Fist of Justice was back to her usual self. Immediately she punched Akko with her E, sending her flying back into the nearest tree, and stunning her. The two descended on her, and all too soon, Akko was dead. She flopped back into her chair and sighed.

“Oh man, who could have seen such a weird build coming?” She grumbled.

“Probably coach Ursula.” Sucy retorted.

“What? No way.” Akko protested. “Lemme see this.” She snatched up the notes, and quickly skimmed through them. Sucy was right. Ursula had highlighted a lot of builds, just like this one. “Well why didn't she tell me about it?”

“She kind of did.” Lotte replied softly. Akko scowled. She didn't have time to pout however, as she was respawning. She returned to lane, and tried to get back on top of things, but it was too late. The kill and a few CS had given Rapture enough gold to get another AD item, which let her come out ahead in every trade. Akko ended up being bullied under her tower, and she couldn't make any move to step out from under it. So she hid under the safety of her the tower, trying to scrounge up enough gold to keep in the game. At least she was still getting the experience. And if she could hold out long enough, it'd be okay. She was safe under the tower. She just had to hope that Lotte and Sucy were doing better.

That safety soon evaporated. Fist of Justice returned, and ran under the tower with the minions. Akko laid into her. The moment she got aggressive and started tanking the tower, Akko would hit her with the rod's W, and it'd be an easy kill. She never did start tanking the tower however. Once she and Rapture were in position, she activated a sapper, and the tower went down. They engaged, and with Akko's low HP pool, she was blown up so quickly, when the tower came back up it continued hitting the creeps.

“How are you guys doing?” Akko asked hopefully.

“We're doomed.” Sucy replied. Akko popped down to look. Their lane was going alright. Sucy had been poked a lot, but she was sustaining well enough. Then Calamity hit level six. Akko watched as she engaged, rolling forward, and activating her ult on Sucy. Six shots later, Sucy was dead. “See?” She replied.

“We can do it!” Akko exclaimed. “Believing in myself is my magic, and I believe in all of us!”

 

**\---SUCY---**

 

They lost the first game. Hard. It was a total wipe. With the game over, Sucy turned to Akko, ready to snap at her. Before she could open her mouth, Lotte was out of her chair.

“Akko! You have to pay attention to what Ursula tells us to do in the notes!” Lotte shouted at Akko. Well, as much as any noise Lotte made could be called shouting. “She spent a lot of effort making them, and she knows what she's talking about. So please just do this build next time.” She jammed her finger into the notes. Akko had shrunk back into the seat a little at Lotte's outburst. She nodded timidly.

“Okay...” She replied. Sucy was impressed. Lotte sat back down in her chair, and sighed. “What else are we picking for our heroes?”

“I think we can run the same lane.” Sucy suggested. Lotte nodded.

“We won't fall for the same trick again. And losing a level 6 fight is okay if we're doing fine before and after.” She agreed.

“Alright, sounds good.” Sucy replied, looking back to the computer in front of her. An invitation to the next game popped up, and she accepted it. This one was on Arcturus Tower. They shuffled into their spots in the game, and the hero selection started again. It was an identical match up, Moonlit Witch, Crimson Lady and Loyal Defender against Rapture Ranger, Calamity Cowgirl and Fist of Justice. Why would the enemy change after all? They'd won with this line up, and if their opponents wanted to play the same game, why would they stop them?

Arcturus Tower as an unusual map. While it wasn't uncommon for lanes to run along the edge of the map, typically only one lane did this. The other lane had a small area of jungle, or something else above or below it, to buff out the map. Arcturus Tower did not do this. The lanes ran in a clean circle around the top, leaving only the jungle in the middle.

The map was also, amusingly enough, Moonlit Witch themed. The objective was to secure the Shiny Rod on one of your heroes, and then unlock the seven words to unlock the Grand Triskellion. The rod spawned in the middle of the map after a short while in the game, and could be picked up by any hero. That hero would then see the spawn locations of each word, and could visit each to unlock them. Unlocking one word would put the rest on cooldown, so the process was time consuming. If the hero died with the rod, they'd drop it, and all progress would be lost. They couldn't even try and pick it up again until someone else on their team had unlocked at least one word.

Usually, the Shiny Rod didn't get finished. Each word gave bonus AD and AP to the holder, so typical strategies dictated obtaining three to five words, and using that power to win. Unlocking all seven words gave the whole team, including minions, a massive buff, that lasted the rest of the game. It essentially won the game when it was done. Sucy could count on one hand the number of times she'd seen it done however. This game wouldn't be one of them. The rod might not even get picked up.

They spawned in, and Sucy was relieved to see that this time, when Akko swapped out of rod form, it was into axe form. The build was being followed then. That was the first step, at least. Now Akko had to use it right. Thankfully she was reading the notes. She appeared to understand what was going on. They headed out to lane. Laning against Calamity wasn't so bad. She'd picked up crit damage runes, so her reload shots were painful, Sucy had come prepared this time. Last time she'd opened up with her usual AP item and consumables. This time she'd gone for a cheaper armour item, and a lot of potions. She'd have less sustain from her Q, but she'd be taking less damage to need to have sustained anyway.

The skirmishing in lane started immediately. Calamity walked ahead of her minions, and immediately took a shot at Sucy. Sucy fired back with her Q. She healed most of the damage taken. They settled into an equilibrium like this, trading blows but not really making tangible progress. They both had enough potions that as they fell a bit low, they'd pull back and heal up.

“Hey Akko.” Sucy asked.

“Yeah?”

“How are you doing?”

 

**Akko has slain Wakka** **for First Blood**

 

“Good.” Akko replied.

 

**\---AMANDA---**

 

The first game had been a joke. Ursula and Diana had been making notes furiously throughout the game. Amanda just reclined in the seats behind them, watching the train wreck. Akko was being an idiot. She'd essentially thrown the game. Of course, the casters were kind. They explained how Akko was making the right call for if the Aurochs were playing this composition normally, and attributed the loss to a bad match up in the picks, and a lack of preparation.

When they'd picked the exact same heroes the casters were less generous. Ursula however was clearly relieved, if still a little tense. Once the game started, and Akko was in her appropriate forms however, Ursula relaxed even more. Akko showed the crowd her axe form, before reverting to rod form, and heading out to lane. Amanda appreciated the tease.

“Alright, this is interesting. They're swapping up their builds a lot. And Akko's starting off with her Q. Let's see what this turns out as.” Tasteless began.

“Oh my god Tasteless, I just realised how sick this build is.” Artosis declared.

“Tell me how sick it is Artosis.”

“So Akko is starting off with her Q. And she's got the rod form and the axe form. The rod form Q stuns when you connect with a wall, and the axe form Q creates a wall.”

“Woaaaaah! This is so sick Artosis!” Tasteless exclaimed. Amanda couldn't help but smile listening to the ridiculous casting. They were lame, but in a kind of cool way. Somehow they managed to walk the line of being lame and self-aware, without falling over into embracing it to the point of actively trying to be lame. It worked out well. There was a reason they were the best casters.

Akko got into lane and played safe. Very safe. She almost seemed scared. When Rapture got close, she threw her Q, knocking her back. It was a calculated move. Suggest that she was scared, and reveal that she had her Q. The information of what spell Moonlit Witch started with was actually very valuable. It'd completely define how you played until she'd unlocked all three. Wakka clearly understood the threat, as he stopped moving close to walls, hugging the centre of the lane, and never giving Akko an opening to push him into a wall.

Which was, of course, the point. Amanda had fallen for this bait several times. She tried really hard not to, of course. The first time Akko got her with it, Amanda had been on the lookout for it for a few days after. Akko ended up exploiting this by faking the threat, and then going a different route entirely. It was infuriating.

As soon as they hit level 2, Akko went in. She swapped to axe form, and slammed down the wall, knocking up Rapture. She advanced quickly while the knock up was in effect, and landed her W, shredding through Rapture's armour. Then she flipped to rod form, and laid into Rapture with her auto attacks. Rapture turned and fought back, but with the minus armour Akko was coming out ahead. The wall was just about to disappear when she fired off her Q, slamming her opponent into the wall and stunning them. The wall vanished a second later, leaving Rapture stunned in the middle of the lane looking very stupid. By the time the stun wore off, she was almost entirely dead. Fist of Justice appeared to try and save Rapture, but Akko threw her W onto her, and continued her focus on Rapture Ranger.

 

**Akko has slain Wakka** **for First Blood**

 

“Hell yeah, that's my girl!” Amanda exclaimed. Diana glanced over her shoulder grumpily at Amanda. She hadn't meant it in a romantic sense, of course, but it seemed Diana wasn't aware of that. And from the look she gave Amanda just then? She wanted Akko. Bad. It was cute how she tried to play like she didn't.

“It seems like they're going to be okay.” Ursula announced with a relieved sigh. Amanda turned her gaze back to the screen. Akko wasn't finished, she realised. She was skirmishing with Fist of Justice now, poking at her as she tried to get around, and back to her tower. She had a mana potion active, and Amanda could just imagine what Akko was planning. She was starting to get a bit low on health as she danced back to her tower, Fist of Justice mirroring her the whole way. Then Akko got what she wanted.

The angle lined up, and Akko fired her Q at Fist of Justice. She was sent flying back, slamming against the wall just barely in range of the tower. A normal person would dive in to finish the kill. Akko wasn't normal. She moved away, heading to the top of the lane, as Fist of Justice tanked tower hits. As soon as the stun finished, Akko threw down the wall. It was perfectly positioned. Fist of Justice had no way out from under the tower. The best she could do was run up Akko's lane, and pray she'd get into the jungle in time. So that's what she did. She didn't make it.

 

**Akko has slain** **Datto**

 

“That was so sick!” Tasteless exclaimed. “I'm getting nerd chills. This is the Akko we were promised, and I am so glad we're getting it.”

“Oh same. Listening to people talk about their team mates is always a bit risky. They'll usually just talk up their team mates, but you know what? Foru and Favour didn't lie. This girl is crazy good at Moonlit Witch, and it really shows. I don't know how you play against this. I just...how do you prepare for someone like this Tasteless?”

“I don't know Artosis, but I'm sure someone will figure it out and show us.” Amanda smirked at that. She knew the answer. You just had to practice against Akko for a few weeks. Shame no one here but her and Diana had that chance so far. It was unfortunate she'd have to knock Akko out, but she was confident. This time, they'd win. She'd been worried she wouldn't get the chance after the first game, but watching Akko stomp like that, she knew. There was nothing to worry about. They had it in the bag.

 

**\---LOTTE---**

 

The game went smoothly without Akko feeding. Once it became clear she was in control of her lane, Fist of Justice came to gank Sucy and Lotte more often. It was no good. They'd both picked up a lot of armour, and their early farming went into even more armour. By the time Calamity hit level six, they had enough armour that even her ult didn't knock Sucy out. Seeing that Calamity had committed everything she had, they went in on her hard. She died quickly, and they started shoving the lane.

The game naturally snowballed from there, and after a crazy all-in on Akko which resulted in Akko trading one for one, and Sucy and Lotte taking their second tower while unopposed, the enemy conceded. The next game was similarly simple. This one was on Ohana, and the enemy team was decidedly not prepared for it. Akko ran the lane, with Sucy and Lotte effectively playing support to her, following her in on engagements, and covering her if she needed to fall back. The Aurochs were clearly not used to these sorts of skirmishes, and they got run over decisively.

“We did it!” Akko exclaimed as they won the third game. Lotte smiled at her. “Thank you Lotte!” Akko threw herself onto Lotte, holding her tight in a hug.

“I didn't really do anything...” Lotte protested.

“You made me listen to the notes!” Akko replied.

“That's not really something special.” Lotte continued to protest.

“Just accept it.” Sucy said. “I don't think she's listening.” Lotte sighed, and hugged Akko back.

“You're welcome. Thank you for listening.” Lotte replied. They stayed like that for a moment.

“Smix is waiting for us.” Sucy announced. Akko pulled herself away.

“Oh yeah! The interview! We've gotta get going to that!”

“You two go. I'll pack up your stuff.” Sucy said. Akko nodded, and jumped to her feet.

“Come on!” Lotte froze. She wasn't ready for an interview! What would she say? What if they asked her a question she didn't know the answer to? Akko pulled Lotte out of her seat, and out to Smix.

“Hey, Akko, Spirits. Is Mushroom coming too?” Smix greeted them.

“She's grabbing our equipment.” Akko explained. Smix nodded.

“Alright, cool, we'll just grab a quick interview with you now, and then tomorrow we'll be doing bigger interviews with everyone on the couch between games.” She explained. Akko nodded. Lotte felt herself go pale. Major interviews? That was way too much. She wanted to protest, or run away. Before she could however, the camera man gestured they were live, and Smix launched into her introduction. “Alright, I'm joined here by Akko and Spirits fresh from that last game, how are you both feeling?”

“Pretty good!” Akko replied.

“Nervous.” Lotte blurted out. She immediately clamped her hands to her mouth to try and stop anything further. It was too late though.

“Nervous? What are you nervous about?” Smix asked. She was here now. No use trying to lie her way out of it.

“This is my first interview.” Lotte explained. “And I've always been worried about it.” Smix nodded.

“Don't worry, everyone's nervous in their first interview. But there's nothing to be worried about. You were great in those games, and I'm sure everyone at home is rooting for you.” Smix reassured her. “So, Akko, we saw a bit of a journey in your builds there. What happened?” Akko laughed sheepishly.

“Well, I uh...might have neglected to read the notes our coach gave me, and used the build I thought was best for the late game.” Akko admitted. “But Lo-Spirits kicked me out of it, and got me to look at the build our coach gave me.”

“I assume that was something you'd prepared already?” Smix asked. Akko shook her head.

“That was the first time I've played it.” She announced. Smix raised her eyebrows.

“Wow, you would've fooled me.” Smix replied. She turned to Lotte. “Now, Spirits, a lot of people were wondering why you weren't in the interview on the first day. Is there a story behind that?”

“Not really.” Lotte lied. “Akko and I just had some disagreements about the hero picks, and I needed a minute or two to cool off. But we've worked it out now, so I'm sure it won't happen again.” Smix nodded understandingly.

“Awesome. Well, I think that's all we've got time for today, anything you'd like to say to your fans?” She asked.

“Thank you very much for your support!” Lotte said, bowing a little.

“And remember, believing in yourself is your magic!” Akko added with a grin. The camera man indicated they'd cut.

“Thanks for that, you were both really good.” Smix said. She looked at Lotte. “And seriously, don't sweat it about being nervous. You were really cute saying that, I'm sure it won you a lot of fans.”

“Oh...that's...good?” Lotte replied.

“Oh, and don't stress it about your interviews tomorrow either. Just relax, be yourself, you both seem really sweet, I'm sure you'll do great up there.” Smix said, giving them a big smile. “Alright gotta dash, see you around.” And with that, her and her camera man were gone, leaving them to go join their team.

“Do you think it was cute?” Lotte asked Akko. Akko nodded.

“Super cute!” She agreed. Well, that was something at least.

 

**\---** **AMANDA---**

 

“Alright girls, here are your notes.” Ursula announced, handing Amanda, Constanze and Jasminka a stack of papers each. Amanda looked down at the notes. The first page was just a title card.

“The plan to defeat Team PH(Not Sponsored Yet)” The first line read, followed by a second “Can't have this in a good, Christian tournament.” Amanda chuckled.

“Didn't realise you knew what memes were.” She remarked. Ursula smiled.

“Well, it's been a while since I've seen a good one, but I do keep up with the forums.” She responded. Amanda took a second to process that. Had she just made a joke? Maybe. Though it sounded like she at least had some taste, and didn't just chase whatever was in at the moment. Amanda could respect that. She flipped the notes open. The first page was on hero picks. The very first line was highlighted in bold text.

 

**PLEASE MAYBE CONSIDER NOT PICKING SHOOTING STAR.**

**CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING ALTERNATIVES:**

**-Dancing Duellist**

**-** **Soulseeker**

**-Silent Assassin**

**-Gravity Queen (you like going fast right?)**

**-Literally anyone intended to be an assassin like how you play Shooting Star**

 

Amanda smirked. The following lines explained why she should consider picking someone else. Amanda skimmed it. Exalted Equestrian was their core pick, with Ancient Witch being a common pick for their second position. The support was always a counter pick if possible. Amanda glanced up at the list. Dancing Duellist was out, she required mobility that could get messed up. Gravity Queen wasn't really Amanda's style, especially not after seeing Diana the priss play her.

She'd barely practised with Silent Assassin either. So all that left was Soulseeker. Amanda wouldn't mind playing her, but she wasn't feeling it today. She'd stick with Shooting Star, she decided, and then let Constanze pick the hard counter for Exalted. It'd be fine. Her thoughts were interrupted by the call for them in the next match. She looked at Ursula.

“Anything you wanna tell us before we go in?” She asked.

“Let Constanze pick maps.” Ursula replied. Amanda glanced over at Constanze, who was flipping through a diagram. Amanda could pick out a few map names on it. Clearly she'd been given the map selection notes. That was fine by Amanda. Map selection sucked anyway.

“Sure. See you in two games.” She replied, heading for the booths.

“Hopefully games you've won.” Ursula called back. Amanda waved over her shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, like we'd lose.” She said. The team made their way into their booths, and started setting up their stuff. Once they were settled, and logged in, she leant over to look at what was going on. She'd gotten a chat window open with the moderator, and was now working out the bans. The first ban they'd picked was Ohana. That was kinda sad, Amanda enjoyed the madness of Ohana. But she could understand it. It'd force her into fights with her counter immediately.

The opponents banned Tower in response. Constanze scowled, and let out and annoyed grunt. Amanda glanced at the notes. The top note was “Pray they don't ban Tower”. She laughed softly. The next step, if they did, was to ban out Blue Moon Abyss. Amanda could see that one too. Tight corners, dangerous boss, lots of potential for Ancient Witch to demolish them with her ultimate. The next ban from the opponents was Polaris. What a surprise, their go-to map being banned. Who could have seen that coming apart from everyone? Then it was on to map picks. Constanze picked Fruitland first.

“The fuck?” Amanda asked. Constanze pointed to the diagram. Sure enough, it said to pick Fruitland. Amanda turned back to her own notes, and started flipping through them. It didn't take long to find the “Fruitland Battle Plan”. She started reading, hoping it would be quick enough to take in before picks started. It was. As she skimmed over the plan, a grin formed on Amanda's face. It was bold. It was innovative. It was downright nuts. And she loved it.

“Let's fucking win this.” Amanda announced, as she put down the notes. The invite to the game popped up, and she immediately accepted it. She was quickly joined by her team.

“Yeah.” Jasminka agreed. Constanze gave her a thumbs up. The game started, and the picks loaded up. Amanda instalocked Shooting Star. Ursula hadn't said she couldn't pick Shooting Star after all. Just that she should maybe consider not. She'd considered it. She'd decided it was a dumb idea. She'd make it work. Besides, she'd seen the plan.

“I know despite my best efforts you'll pick Shooting Star first, so this plan is written on that assumption.” The first line had read. What was Amanda supposed to do? Waste her coach's precious work. That would be downright rude, and Amanda liked to think she was pretty polite. Sometimes. When it suited her. The picks revealed. The enemy had picked Exalted Equestrian. It was their pick next.

“What do you want Jas?” Amanda asked.

“Um.” Jasminka replied. She was looking at her notes. “Titanium Maiden, please.” She said after a pause. Odd choice, but Amanda wasn't going to question it. She locked it in. The opponents took a while to pick, before locking in Ancient Witch. There was another long wait, before finally they locked in their last choice, Siren.

“Cons, what do you want?” Amanda repeated. Constanze immediately set to typing.

“Magic Marksman.” She responded. Amanda shrugged, and locked it in. It was one of their standard compositions for a reason. And it fit with the plan well enough.

“Let's fucking do this.” Amanda declared, as the game started. She felt real good about this one.


	26. Chapter Twenty-four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is short because it felt like the natural ending point. Sorry for that. But trust me. For the next chapter which I just finished like three minutes ago and wish I could post right now, it's absolutely worth it. You're all going to love it, I promise. So to get it out faster I'm probably gonna dodge writing about a game for a chapter or two cause games cause delays, and we want none of that on this one.
> 
> Profiles when I'm up for it basically. Comments etc. appreciated, and look forward to posting to you all again soon. Sorry for the delays!

**\---JASMINKA---**

 

Jasminka wasn't nearly as invested in this game as Amanda was. She wasn't fussed if they won or lost. She never was, honestly. Magical Burst was fun. Jasminka loved being able to help her friends have that moment of feeling awesome as they carried the game. Unlike the rest of the team, she'd never really practised Magical Burst. She hadn't tried to go pro. She'd just played the game to have fun. But the most fun Jasminka had was when she was thanked at the end of the game for being a great support.

That had led her down a rabbit hole of research, trying to understand what she could do better. She memorised the ward placements on every map. She learned the hero synergies, and how to lean into them best. She learned the art of subtly guiding her carry towards victory. She learned all of this just to have fun. To unlock the future fun she could be having in the games she played at a higher level.

Going pro had never even really occurred to Jasminka. Magical Burst was just a hobby for her. But some of the girls at her school had dreamed of going pro. They'd asked her to apply to Luna Nova with them. They weren't particularly nice girls, and Jasminka knew she was being used. But well, being used was better than being left out, right? So she'd gone along with it and applied with them.

They'd made it through the first round of eliminations, but hadn't been selected on special merit. So the next step was try-outs. Jasminka had put her everything into those games. They'd lost though. It wasn't her fault. The girls who had asked her just weren't very good. So the results came in. They hadn't made it. But Jasminka had. At first she wasn't sure if she'd accept. But then she'd seen the angry scowls they'd given her. She couldn't very well stay in that situation. And playing Magical Burst for a living wasn't a bad thing.

So she accepted. She'd expected to be put on a training team, helping the big shots get ready for their games. Instead she was assigned to the green team, under Amanda. Upon seeing Amanda, she'd expected the worst. Another bully who looked down on her. Instead she found all Amanda cared about was how good she was. And Jasminka was pretty good. They'd quickly settled into being good friends.

It was clear that they weren't much alike in how they viewed the game though. Amanda was competitive, she wanted to win. Jasminka just wanted to play. But she didn't want to disappoint her friends. She played support to give other people the best games they could have after all. And Amanda's best games were the ones that she won. So Jasminka was invested. She'd put her everything into every game to see them through to victory.

Jasminka didn't bother asking Constanze for the plan as they entered lane. Constanze never spoke, preferring to type or write when she could. It had taken a bit to get used to that quirk, but once she did, they'd clicked well. Jasminka wasn't one for speaking much herself, so they'd ended up developing a good instinct for what the other wanted from a ping or two.

As soon as the laning started, Constanze pinged the bush in the centre of the lane. Jasminka stepped into it, and waited, watching how the enemy laned. They were conservative in their movements, Siren hanging well back, while Exalted Equestrian only moved up to take last hits before pulling back. Constanze threw a single ping on Equestrian, indicating her intention to get aggressive. She moved up on the lane, drifting towards Jasminka's bush. Jasminka threw down a detection ward. As they'd expected, the enemy hadn't warded it.

As Constanze advanced, Equestrian took the bait. She dashed towards Constanze as soon as she was exposed. Jasminka stepped out from the bush, and hit Equestrian with her Q. The critical damage runes she was running did their job, chunking Equestrian for a ton of health, and stunning her. Constanze and Jasminka laid into her, dropping her low. She started to run, but Constanze hit her with a concussive shot. The slow was enough, and they secured the kill.

 

**SnipingWitch has slain UNIS for First Blood**

 

“Nice.” Amanda muttered. Jasminka beamed.

“I'll go farm lemons.” She announced, returning to the bush she'd launched her ambush from. She used her flash powder, and jumped over the wall into the jungle, and headed for the nearest lemon.

 

**\---AMANDA---**

 

Ancient Witch was a stupid hero. She brought absolutely nothing of value to the game. Why would anyone think a hero who's kit largely revolved around setting traps in lane was a good idea? All she did was slow the lane down, and make it impossible for exciting plays to happen. Where was the fun in a hero who prevented people from playing aggressively? The point of the game was to play aggressively!

Every attempt Amanda had made to advance in the lane resulted in her hitting a stupid tree, and taking a hit or two for her efforts. She couldn't even shove the lane really, as Ancient Witch's Q was an effective wave clear, so her minions all went down about as fast as her opponents, no matter what she did. Thankfully, it didn't matter to their strategy if she could push this lane or not. She just had to farm, and put on enough pressure to keep Ancient Witch from roaming. She could do that.

“God this is so fucking boring.” Amanda whined, as the fourth wave was cleared without anything interesting happening. Since the opening kill nothing had happened. Everything was going according to plan. Which was great. It was great that they were on their path to victory. It was just unfortunate the plan was so damn boring. On paper it sounded great, and for Jasminka and Constanze, it was probably the most interesting game they'd ever played. But for Amanda...it was suffering.

“Fuck it, I'm going in.” Amanda announced. This was immediately met by a “Be careful” ping from Constanze. That was her signal not to do it. Amanda went to do it. Then she hesitated. Constanze was right. She shouldn't. She should follow the plan. She sighed, and slumped into her chair, moving back into the lane. “This sucks. Maybe I'll just quit.” She muttered. Neither of her team mates acknowledged her. She wasn't surprised. She said this once a week whenever they got into games like this. She never did quit. Because of course the next game always got her blood pumping, and she was reminded of why she played.

“Hey Jas, you finished?” She asked grumpily. She was almost level six after all, it should be time to begin.

“I think so.” Jasminka replied.

“Alright Constanze, you ready?” She was met with a thumbs up from her left. “Well, let's do it.”

 

**\---CONSTANZE---**

 

Fruitland was typically regarded as a joke of a map. It wasn't an unfair assessment. It's gimmick didn't lend itself to the usual high-stakes show down that most other map objectives did. Instead it just had an unusual jungle. Most people didn't see what made a lemon that dropped gold different from a creep. Constanze had been one of those people, until she'd read the plan that Ursula had concocted. She hadn't thought much of Ursula originally. She was smart, sure, but Constanze's plans were often better. She knew a lot about the game too. But Constanze already knew most of it as well, and could easily look up what she didn't know. What Ursula did have however, was experience. And with experience came the random knowledge of how certain mechanics interacted. For instance, the knowledge that lemons actually DROPPED their gold. They didn't give gold to the person who killed them. Instead they dropped it on the ground for anyone to pick up.

Constanze knew it dropped, of course. That was the point of lemons as a map objective. You could kill one, and then have an enemy steal the gold from under you. What Constanze hadn't been properly aware of was the fact that gold never de-spawned. She knew it, of course. But she didn't think about it. Didn't consider the implication that the lemons respawned, even if the gold was still there. So it had never occurred to her that Jasminka could break a lemon, and leave the gold for her to pick up. But it had occurred to Ursula.

Constanze had farmed up around 2500 gold between the laning and the kill on Exalted Equestrian. That was enough for one of her core items. Equestrian probably had a slightly lower, but ultimately comparable amount of gold. The gold in the lemons was worth another 1600 easily. Collecting all of it put Constanze unbelievably ahead in terms of net worth. Now they wanted to look for a fight, just as soon as Constanze spent the money. She spent it all on a Heaven's Thunder, a late game core item for Magic Marksman. It gave bonus range and attack speed, and the unique passive of dealing bonus pure damage on all auto attacks based on the distance between Magic Marksman and her target when the attack hit.

“Alright Jas, let's go bait a fight.” Amanda announced. She swung into the jungle as well, coming in through a very obvious pathway. There was no doubt the enemy team saw her. Constanze glanced at the map. As expected, the bottom lane, Exalted Equestrian and Siren, was falling back. As was Ancient Witch. The obvious move here for them was to pull back, and then regroup in the jungle to try and make a fight happen. With a gank looming, there wasn't much else they could do. They could go and clear the jungle, or the lemons, but that wasn't really safe.

They might hang back, and simply wait out the gank. But that would be conceding too much of the map. Constanze could be farming the jungle that whole time, and pulling slightly ahead. She wasn't, of course, and she was already much more than slightly ahead. But the enemy didn't know that yet.

Amanda and Jasminka led the way, weaving through the jungle, while Constanze hung back, staying close enough to arrive to the fight when it started, but not so close as to be at risk. It wasn't long before Amanda found the enemy. Or perhaps more accurately, the enemy found Amanda. She'd moved ahead of Jasminka, since she could, in theory, jump back to safety if need be.

But theory rarely worked out in an actual game of Magical Burst, much to Constanze's dismay. If it did, she'd have solved the game six times over by now. So while Amanda could, theoretically, jump away when danger reared itself, instead what happened was a small forest sprung up around her, and she was immediately rooted. Exalted Equestrian dashed out from a nearby bush, and got on top of Amanda, immediately activating her stomps. Amanda was, to put it in terms she'd use, fucked.

Jasminka arrived to the fight a moment later, and immediately threw her ultimate up around Amanda. It wasn't going to do much to help, since Amanda couldn't really escape, but it would keep the Equestrian in the kill pit, and prevent the enemy from joining in. Then Constanze arrived. She landed her first hit on Equestrian, dealing a quarter of her health in damage. The panic was instantaneous. She stopped hitting Amanda to try and run, but the ultimate from Jasminka kept her locked in place. Constanze landed another hit, pushing Equestrian down to half health. She stopped panicking, and focused on securing the kill on Amanda. Another hit, Equestrian was down to a quarter. Less than, really.

 

**UNIS has slain NoCause**

 

Amanda dying was fine. So long as they cleaned up the fight, it was totally fine. Constanze just had to land the final blow on Equestrian. So of course, this was the moment that Siren appeared, having blinked across a wall with flash powder, and hit Constanze with a charm. Constanze fumed at the screen, as Jasminka's wall dropped, and Equestrian closed in on her, trying to secure the kill. Jasminka meanwhile, was hit by Ancient Witch's W, and was rooted in place. Constanze was on her own to win the fight as the charm wore off.

Despite the stacked odds, Constanze did win however. A late game item at level 6 was a powerful thing after all, and neither Siren nor Ancient Witch really had the damage to threaten her. They did get her low however, and once they were dead, she had to return to base immediately. That was okay though. She bought lifesteal this time. She wouldn't be threatened like that again.

 

**\---AMANDA---**

 

The rest of the game was hell for Amanda. For Constanze, it was clearly a breeze. She was an untouchable god of destruction. Amanda however was just a punching bag. She kept getting caught out by someone's CC, and utterly destroyed for it. Exalted Equestrian, or the horse bitch as Amanda was starting to call her, kept getting on top of her and locking her down with her stupid stomps. Constanze would clean up after, but Amanda always died in the process. But it was fine. They ended up winning, thankfully.

“Fuck that sucked.” Amanda announced once the victory screen popped up. “Hey Cons, what's the next map?” Constanze handed her a sheet of paper from the plan. Amanda glanced at it. “Rastavan Ruins Battle Plan” the title read. That was an answer of sorts. Amanda grabbed it, hoping that whatever was in there was less shitty to play.

“Now that you've suffered for your decision to play Shooting Star despite my warnings, I am confident you won't pick her again.” The opening line of the plan read. Amanda scowled. She wasn't going to pick her before. Now she was seriously thinking about it. She leant back in her chair and let out a loud sigh. She'd probably do it. She'd probably still pick Shooting Star.

“Fuck it, same comp?” She asked finally.

“Should we?” Jasminka asked uncertainly. “The plan says we shouldn't.”

“Fuck the plan.” Amanda retorted. She was being childish. But Ursula had sassed her in the plan, and she wasn't going to stand for that. “We'll play it like we play any other game. If we win, we've kept some secrets right?” It was a flimsy excuse, but it was an excuse.

“Okay.” Jasminka agreed. She didn't sound convinced. Amanda looked over at Constanze. She was scowling, but she gave a thumbs up.

“Great, this will be fine.” Amanda reassured them. “We'll knock them clean out.”

 

**\---URSULA---**

 

Ursula winced as she saw the line up for Rastavan. It was identical to the last one.

“The same line up. That's good right? They won that last time.” Akko announced. Ursula went to respond, but Diana got in first.

“It's not at all good.” She announced. “They won because they abused the map mechanics, and managed to surprise...PH...with Constanze being so strong. They don't have the same fall back, so the natural disadvantage will guide them to losing, most likely.”

“Oh. Well, I believe in them!” Akko responded. She stood up and threw a fist in the air. “Go Amanda!” She shouted.

“She can't hear you you idiot.” Hannah snapped.

“You're just making a fool of yourself.” Barbara added. Akko flumped back down into her chair.

“Hey, coach Ursula?” Akko asked.

“Yes?” Ursula asked.

“Did you come up with the Fruitland plan?” Akko asked.

“I was wondering the same.” Diana added.

“Oh, well, um, kind of. I made the plan for them, but I didn't come up with it myself.” Ursula explained, with a nervous laugh.

“Who did come up with it?” Diana asked.

“An old team mate on Luna Nova.” Ursula replied. She was kind of dodging the question, and hopefully Diana wouldn't notice. Diana definitely did notice, as she let her eyes linger on Ursula for a moment, before glancing away.

“I see.” She said simply. Well, that was a problem for another day, Ursula decided. Today she needed to see how the green team handled this disaster they were making for themselves. She turned her attention back to the game as it began.

The answer quickly became apparent. Poorly. The laning was fine, though since the last game, they couldn't bluff like Jasminka was in lane when she wasn't. The first kill in the last game had left them scared, and any time Constanze acted like Jasminka was about to come out of the bushes, they fell back. This time Constanze tried it once, and got killed for it. They traded another kill back in the next fight, but otherwise the laning was boring. Then the first team fight broke out on the dragons. Without the huge damage from Constanze, they were rolled over, and Team PH continued to push in on the dragons.

They secured them fairly quickly, and transitioned that into a hell push from Ancient Witch. Her mana gain was insane with the Sorcerer's Stone and her passive, and she could fire off her Q without worry. She simply couldn't spend the mana fast enough to stop herself being capped out. The green team made a play to fight them, but it was futile. They lost. As the game was coming to a close, Ursula got up and stormed over to the nearest member of staff.

“Excuse me. I'm the Luna Nova coach, I'd like a short time out after this game please.” She requested. Each team was allowed one time out to make plans. Most weren't used in three game series like this, but it was an emergency. The staff member was very polite, and organised everything for her. Once the game was over, Ursula stormed into the booth.

“What the hell was that?” She demanded, as she stared at Amanda. Amanda just shrugged.

“I didn't think we needed the plan, so I wanted to keep our strategies a secret.” She answered.

“You're doing a very good job of that.” Ursula agreed. “I imagine if you lose in the round of sixteen you won't be giving away anything.” Amanda grimaced at that.

“We're not gonna lose.” She argued.

“You are if you use that composition again.” Ursula snapped back. She took a deep breath, and composed herself. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't yell at you. I understand wanting to stick with your comfort picks. You do need to mix up your composition, but you can keep Shooting Star if you need to. Just...find another solution to the lock down. Please?” Amanda hesitated, before huffing.

“Whatever. We'll work something out.” She grumbled. “That all you wanted to say?”

“Yes, it was. Good luck in the next game.” Ursula replied, heading out. She returned to her seat to find the picking had now just begun. To her surprise, Shooting Star wasn't the first pick. Instead it was Soulseeker. Ursula smiled. Amanda had listened to her. This game would be much better, she was sure.


	27. Chapter Twenty-five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're all going to love this one. Comments etc. appreciated, all that usual stuff.

**\---AMANDA---**

 

Amanda was planning to pick Shooting Star again. The loss was her fault, sure, but it was down to her bad decisions, not the pick itself. She'd learnt her lesson, and now she was going to do better. When Ursula had stormed in, Amanda's resolve to pick Shooting Star just got stronger. She didn't like being told what to do. She especially didn't like being sassed at by her coach. But then Ursula had done the thing she'd expected the least. She said to pick Shooting Star. Amanda couldn't remember the last time someone in a position of authority had actually conceded like that. Had considered what she wanted when it came to a decision. Amanda had always thought Ursula wasn't bad as the rest. When she came storming in, Amanda was ready to write her off. Instead, she'd proven Amanda right. So Amanda picked Soulseeker.

She wasn't sure if it was the right pick. But that was the best thing about doing what you were told. If it was the wrong thing, it wasn't your fault anymore. If Soulseeker failed them, that was on Ursula. The picks revealed. To absolutely no surprise, the first pick was Exalted Equestrian. They had the next pick.

“Jas?” Amanda asked. Jasminka took a moment to think.

“Nature's Wrath? And we run our practised composition?” She suggested. Amanda nodded. That made sense. She locked in Nature's Wrath. This was the third composition they'd practised for the first tournament. They hadn't had to use it in the end, but Amanda enjoyed it. They shifted focus, putting her as their main carry, with Constanze playing utility and Jasminka jungling. Amanda was surprised that Constanze was okay to play utility. But it made sense, Curious Inventor was, aesthetically at least, very much Constanze's type of character. Amanda couldn't argue with picking for aesthetic. She'd started off with Shooting Star because of the aesthetic after all.

The enemy took a while to make their next pick. It was Ancient Witch again. Their third pick took even longer, coming down to the last second. They'd picked Loyal Defender. It seemed the new picks were throwing them off. Amanda grinned.

“You good with this plan Cons?” She asked. Constanze gave her a thumbs up in response. Amanda locked in Curious Inventor. The screen transitioned to the preparation stage. Amanda flicked to the correct rune page, and started flicking through the skins. The problem with Soulseeker is she was hot, and Amanda wanted to run all of the skins. She ended up picking the Succubus skin. It made Soulseeker essentially look like a stripper. Not exactly Amanda's tastes, but she wouldn't complain. The point was really to show off anyway. The loading screen popped up, and Amanda looked over at Constanze.

“Is there a special plan for this map?” She asked. Constanze shook her head. She reached over and tapped Amanda's fingers. That was the go-to sign for “Just play good.” Amanda nodded. “Can do.”

The game loaded, and Amanda opened the shop. Soulseeker was weird. She could be built both AP and AD, depending on the player's preference. Her abilities all had powerful effects beyond damage, that made them worth it without the scaling, but she had a passive ability on auto attacks which scaled off AP. Amanda personally preferred the AD style. It produced more consistent damage, and relied less on optimising your abilities, something Amanda sucked at. She picked up a short sword, and several potions.

She arrived to lane, and this time she roamed forward aggressively. Ancient Witch would probably want to lay down a trap or two before the laning started, and Amanda wanted to punish her for it. Soulseeker's E was perfect for this sort of match up. It was a passive, that stole a percentage of the damage on an auto-attack from the enemy's mana pool as well, dealing the same amount in pure damage. The percentage scaled up with AP, so there was a rough equivalence in value regardless of build.

As predicted, Ancient Witch ventured forward to plant a tree. Amanda had set up in the bushes in the middle of the lane, and so when Ancient Witch got close, she simply stepped out swinging. Ancient Witch immediately fell back to her tower. She made it, easily, but she'd lost a decent amount of health for her troubles. And more importantly, she didn't have a trap in the lane yet. She'd get one up, sure, but she'd have to work for it, and Amanda could keep track of every one of them.

The minions arrived, and the lane settled into it's routine. Amanda was setting the pace mostly, poking at Ancient Witch when she moved for the trees, and then pulling back to shed the aggro of the minions. It wasn't stopping Ancient Witch from placing them, of course, but it was making her pay for each one. Amanda also never missed a last hit, while she made sure to try and put pressure on Ancient Witch when her minions got low. She couldn't always achieve it, but when she did, it felt good, and she was slowly pulling ahead.

Amanda hit level 2 first, and levelled her Q. It was a powerful, AOE slow, with a small casting delay that could make landing it hard. It was expensive too, as most of Soulseeker's kit was, but it slowed low mana targets more. The slow's duration extended as the target lost mana too. It was a natural synergy with her E, which Amanda appreciated. And it punished players for being too aggressive with their mana.

She didn't use it though. There wasn't an easy chance for her to jump on Ancient Witch, so she played it slow for the moment. But even if she couldn't pick fights, that didn't stop Amanda from being aggressive. She roamed forward into trees that she'd seen placed, accepting the root, and focusing on last hits. Ancient Witch had tried to capitalise on them, but whenever she did Amanda fired back at her, and they came out largely equal.

They hit level 3, and Amanda made her move. She levelled up her Q again, and advanced, firing it at Ancient Witch. She'd been harassing with her Q as well, and with all the traps, and the attacks from Amanda, her mana was already low. The result was a very powerful slow. Amanda jumped forward, laying into her opponent with auto-attacks, extending the duration of the slow even more. Ancient Witch tried to retreat to a tree for safety, but Amanda knew, she'd already triggered all the ones that could help her. It was an easy kill.

 

**NoCause has slain** **DaysFinest for First Blood**

 

“Hell yeah.” Amanda muttered, clenching a fist for a second.

“Good job.” Jasminka said softly.

“Alright Cons, how you doing? You need a gank?” Amanda asked. She got a ping on the bottom lane, followed by a fall back ping on herself. Lane is going well, no gank please was the translation. So Amanda shrugged, and stuck to her lane. She took the chance to advance up, and pop as many of the trees as possible, resetting Ancient Witches' progress in lane. By the time Ancient Witch returned, it was to a hellish nightmare. This was Amanda's lane now.

 

– **-** **CONSTANZE---**

 

Laning 2v1 was hard in the best of circumstances. Lucky for Constanze, having Curious Inventor in that 2v1 was the best of circumstances. That left the lane at just hard, and not punishingly impossible. The primary mechanic of Curious Inventor was her turrets. She could place a small number of them on the ground, and effectively create a kill zone of auto-attacking minions. She set hers up close to the tower, but not entirely underneath it. Then when the minions arrived, she'd run forward, poke at Exalted, and flee back to her turrets, chased by a small army of angry minions that would then start being torn apart by the turrets. Any kills they secured were last hits for her, and their damage was high enough that typically half her wave would survive, to push up to the tower. It forced Exalted to tank minions, or let them hit the tower, neither of which was ideal.

In essence, the lane was stable. That could change suddenly however. If Constanze roamed too far forward and got caught, or one of her turrets fell without being replaced, she could be very easily killed by the two heroes facing her down. A gank could just as easily throw things into disarray, so even though Amanda could pull off a gank, Constanze rejected it when offered. If she died, the turrets would be killed, and she'd have to work to reclaim the lane. She'd probably end up stuck under tower, unable to find any last hits.

The equilibrium held until level 6. Up in the top lane, Amanda had killed Ancient Witch twice more, and was running away with the game. If something was going to change, it'd be down here. So when Team PH hit level 6, they went in. Exalted dashed forward, and activated her Q, locking Constanze in place. The turrets were laying into Exalted, but with Loyal Defender backing her up, she wasn't going down fast enough. Constanze threw out her E, a ring that blocked enemies from stepping out of it, but allowed allies to pass through. She managed to run out of it, and under the tower. She should be safe.

Loyal Defender blinked forward, and activated her ultimate. The edge of the ability caught Constanze, and she watched in dismay as Curious Inventor turned, and walked back into the ring. Exalted Equestrian tore her apart.

 

**UNIS has slain SnipingWitch**

 

Constanze slammed her desk in frustration.

“Relax Cons, we got this.” Amanda said confidently. Constanze looked at the mini-map. Sure enough, Amanda and Jasminka were collapsing in from the jungle to cut off the enemy's retreat. Amanda opened with her slow on Exalted Equestrian, and began laying into her. Exalted responded by activating her ultimate, removing the slow and capping out her move speed. She ran up to Amanda, and knocked her back with the attack, dealing a ton of damage. Amanda didn't seem fussed. She just stood and fought.

As they both started to get low, Amanda activated her W. It dealt damage to a target based on how how much mana they'd spent or lost. Someone with no mana took nearly half their health in damage. Exalted had lost most of her mana in the fights, and so she dropped. Loyal Defender followed shortly after. Constanze let out a soft sigh of relief, and gave them a thumbs up.

“Thanks Cons. Think we group up in top and make a push?” Amanda suggested. Constanze nodded They were up right now, and there wasn't a map mechanic to try and exploit with their lead. The only thing they could do while ahead was take towers, or pick fights. Amanda cleared the lane, taking the gold she could get, and pushed the tower a little, while Jasminka farmed the jungle a little more. Once Constanze respawned, they both moved to the top lane, and Constanze followed them out there. Dying at least let her buy some more items, so now her turrets packed much more of a punch. It was unfortunate she'd have to destroy her set up to push the top lane, but it was for the best. She couldn't keep farming bottom lane forever after all.

Arriving in the top lane, Ancient Witch was no where to be seen. That was to be expected of course. She'd fall back the moment she felt threatened, and wait for her team to respawn. They'd know it was time to pick a fight too. Most likely they'd wait for Exalted Equestrian's ult to come back up, and then they'd go for it. They had a powerful lock down potential after all.

“Hey Cons, you got flash powder yeah?” Amanda asked. Constanze pinged her flash powder in response. Of course she did. She knew how these fights were going to go. “Cool, just checking. Let's get this tower quick.” They grouped up, and shoved the lane out, before hitting the tower too. It went down quickly. Amanda and Jasminka advanced on the next tower, while Constanze hung back. They were the bait, after all. Constanze was the trap. As much as she could be, at least.

As expected, a forest of trees erupted around Amanda and Jasminka, and they were both rooted. The trap had been sprung. Loyal Defender and Exalted Equestrian both blinked in, with Loyal Defender immediately activating her ult, forcing both of them to attack her. Constanze blinked in a moment later, and activated her ult. A ring of six turrets appeared around her, opening fire on Loyal Defender as well. Constanze fired off her W, throwing down an AoE damage and armour reduction. With the added damage and reduced armour, Loyal Defender melted.

 

**SnipingWitch has slain Achelipa**

 

“Nice work Cons.” Amanda declared, as she turned her focus on Exalted Equestrian. Exalted activated her Q in response, interrupting Amanda's attacks. They were pretty evenly matched in damage in this fight, and with the interrupt, Amanda was in trouble.

Jasminka activated her ultimate, hitting herself, Amanda and Exalted with it. Thorns sprouted from each of them, and the damage Exalted was taking jumped up. Nature's Wrath's ultimate was a powerful fight deterrent. Every hero hit by it sprouted thorns, and dealt equal damage back to enemies that hit them. It didn't work on ranged attacks thankfully, so Constanze and her turrets could safely continue hitting Exalted. Soulseeker was also ranged, but the thorns based on distance, not attack type, and with Exalted on top of her, she'd be taking damage back.

Lucky for Amanda however, Exalted was turning her sights onto Constanze. Constanze turned to flee, but the trees from Ancient Witch rooted her again on the way out, and Exalted caught up. Constanze died quickly, and flopped back into her chair with a huff. At least Amanda killed Exalted shortly after. The fight had left her low, but Amanda activated her ultimate. Exactly half her mana converted to health, leaving her nice and healthy. Together Amanda and Jasminka caught Ancient Witch, and killed her too. They took their time, letting her stand for a few more seconds before securing the kill. That would stagger the spawns, and give them longer as a complete team to group up and prepare for a fight. With the ace secured, they returned to the towers, quickly shredding through them.

 

**\---AMANDA---**

 

Amanda trotted out of the booth, broom on one shoulder with the cockiest grin she could muster. That last game had gone amazingly. After stomping the first team fight, they took three towers, and threatened the base. That forced a second team fight, which they also stomped through. From there it was an easy push into the base to secure the win. The only thing that could sour Amanda's mood right now was the reminder that she'd had to play two games not doing that.

“Hey, NoCause!' Smix called out to her. Amanda turned, beelining over to Smix and waving.

“Yo! Another interview?” She asked.

“If you don't mind.”

“It'd be my pleasure.”

“Great, just give us a minute.” Smix replied, gesturing to her camera man. Amanda shrugged. She didn't mind waiting. She stood around for a few minutes. Behind her, Constanze and Jasminka slipped out of the booth, and headed back to join the team. She didn't blame them. Neither of them were really interview material. “Alright, ready?”

“Whenever.” Amanda said with a quick nod. Smix nodded back, and gave the camera man a thumbs up. There was another small pause, and then he returned the gesture.

“Hello everyone! I'm joined here by NoCause, the Luna Nova green captain, how does your team feel about that last match?” Smix began, turning to Amanda.

“Well, we're pretty stoked, I'd say.” Amanda replied. Stoked was not a word that anyone else would ever use to describe her team. But Amanda could tell they were excited in their own ways. “Though I guess we're also a little sad.”

“Sad? Why's that?” Smix asked.

“Well, we have to play against Akko tomorrow.” Amanda answered. She could elaborate, but she chose not to. Make Smix work for it.

“I wanted to ask about that match, now that it's locked in, how do you feel about it?” Smix took the bait.

“Well, I know Akko, and the rest of the red team have practised really hard for this tournament. And I know she really wants a rematch with Diana. So it's really unfortunate we're going to kick her out tomorrow.” Amanda answered. Smix laughed softly.

“You're that confident?” Smix asked.

“I'd put money on it.” Amanda replied. “But I don't want there to be a scandal when I win.” Smix laughed.

“Well, there you have it folks. Something big to look forward to tomorrow. Tune in then to see how well the two Luna Nova teams perform against each other tomorrow. Until then, back to you Artosis and Tasteless.” Smix wrapped up, turning back to the camera. Once they were off air, she nodded to Amanda. “Thanks, that was great.”

“Just being honest.” Amanda replied with a shrug. Smix laughed softly and shook her head.

“See you tomorrow.” She said, waving and heading off. Amanda turned, and walked back over to the team. Akko was scowling at her. Amanda didn't care. She knew Akko would say the same tomorrow. Amanda stopped in front of the team.

“So, we're all in the round of eight huh?” She announced.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Diana replied. Amanda scowled at her.

“What, don't want to be here?” She snapped.

“I was thinking that it would have been ideal if you'd lost.” Diana answered. “Two teams under the same name facing off is good drama, but one team avenging their defeated friends is even better. And right now, we need as good a story as we can get.” Amanda scowled at her.

“You're just saying that because you don't want your girlfriend getting knocked out tomorrow.” She retorted. Both Akko and Diana turned bright red at that comment. Akko, thankfully, was sitting a row behind Diana though, so neither of them saw it.

“I...” Diana started, stumbling for a moment, before taking a breath and regaining her composure. “Akko is not my girlfriend, no matter what crazy ideas you've gotten into your head. She is simply my friend, and I would appreciate you not implying anything to the contrary.”

“Uh huh. Which is why you two are going on a date.” Amanda snapped back. She immediately regretted that decision. Diana had explicitly told her to stay out of it. Instead she'd pried into it with Akko, and even gone so far as to offer help. Nothing good could come of that. Diana looked at her with cold anger. Slowly she stood.

“I have no intention of dignifying you further with this argument. As a general rule I try not to associate with liars such as yourself.” She announced calmly, before starting to walk off. Amanda opened her mouth to retort, but her eyes caught on Ursula. She was giving Amanda a look of pure murder. Amanda clamped her mouth shut. Both Barbara and Hannah followed after Diana, leaving just the red and green teams with the coach.

“I'm...gonna go...do things.” Akko announced. She sounded heartbroken, as she climbed to her feet. She wandered off, looking down at the ground dejected. Lotte and Sucy both looked after her concerned, before getting up and following her.

“Amanda.” Ursula began. Amanda sucked in a breath through her teeth.

“Yes coach?” She replied hopefully.

“Please refrain from agitating the delicate balance this team has established.” Ursula said softly. Amanda nodded.

“Got it.” She replied.

“You can say what you want during interviews, but until we're done try to keep your social interactions with them to a minimum, unless you're in a broader social situation.” Ursula continued. “With people outside the team.” She added. Amanda nodded again.

“Yes coach.” She repeated.

“And finally.” Ursula began. Amanda braced for the worst. “Good job in that last game. You played excellently. Congratulations on making it through to the next round.” Amanda blinked.

“Uh..thanks.” She said awkwardly. Ursula smiled, and climbed to her feet, and headed off, leaving Amanda with just Constanze and Jasminka.

“So...who wants to go for drinks?” Amanda suggested. The other two nodded immediately.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Diana hated her. That was the conclusion Akko had come to after her outburst. Well, perhaps not hate, that might be a little strong. But she was definitely going to be upset with her. From how she reacted when Amanda mentioned the date, she clearly didn't want her knowing. But Akko had gone ahead and blurted it out. She didn't know that she shouldn't, of course, but she was sure that wouldn't change anything. Diana was so perfect about everything else, of course she'd expect Akko to have some common sense about these things.

The worst part of it was that she wasn't actually guaranteed to have that date. It was all part of the bet they'd made. So maybe she'd end up just doing Diana's laundry instead. Maybe that had been the plan all along anyway? Diana had pretty clearly stated that they were just friends. And it wasn't like Akko ever actually beat Diana. She was being stupid if she thought she could win.

“Hey Akko?” Lotte's voice drifted in softly from the side. Akko pulled herself out of her thoughts, and back to the present.

“Yeah?” She asked.

“Where are we going?” Lotte asked. She was standing next to Akko, staring at her with a patient smile. Akko looked around. They were outside the stadium, a short distance past the bus stop back. Akko blinked.

“How did we get here?” She replied.

“You were walking like a zombie.” Sucy answered from the other side.

“We thought you had a plan at first, but I was starting to get worried when you didn't answer us.” Lotte added. Akko nodded.

“Sorry. I guess I was a bit zoned out.” She laughed nervously. “Let's go catch the bus.” The three of them doubled back, and waited for the bus in silence. They settled into their seats, Akko beside the window, Lotte beside her and Sucy behind her.

“So...” Lotte began. “What were you thinking about?”

“Nothing.” Akko lied.

“You looked pretty sad.” Lotte said. Akko winced.

“Well um...I was just...Diana said...” She fumbled, trying to explain the thought process. She found she couldn't. Now that she was using words, any explanation she tried to build felt like nonsense.

“She said?” Lotte probed softly.

“Diana said we were just friends. And that she didn't want Amanda implying anything else.” Akko explained.

“And...does that upset you?” Lotte asked. Akko thought for a second. Obviously it did. But she took a second just to go over it, and be very sure.

“Yes.” She answered softly. Tears welled up in her eyes, though she wasn't sure why. Crying right now was stupid. She was upset, but it wasn't that bad. Was it? Lotte pulled her into a gentle hug.

“Do you like her?” Lotte asked softly. Akko nodded. Lotte began to stroke her hair slowly, making gentle shushing noises. “Have you told her?”

“I...asked her on a date.” Akko said.

“That's not the same as telling her you like her.” Lotte said. Her voice was gentle, but with a hidden layer of firmness. Like she wouldn't tolerate anything but the absolute truth, but wouldn't be mad about how long it took. Akko just let out a grumpy whine in response. “Why don't you tell her you like her?”

“It's hard.” Akko replied. “And she doesn't even like me. She said we're just friends.”

“Akko.” Lotte said, her voice firmer. “Right now, you are just friends. That doesn't mean she doesn't want you to be more than that.”

“But...” Akko protested. She wasn't cut off. She had hoped she would be. She didn't have an argument to make. Lotte sighed softly when it was clear Akko had nothing more to say.

“Do you want me to speak with her?” She offered. Akko nodded. “Okay, you wait in the lobby when we get back.” Akko nodded again. The lobby sounded nice right now. Maybe she could sleep there.

 

**\---LOTTE---**

 

Lotte paused in front of Diana's room, and hesitated a moment. What did she plan to say? She wasn't entirely sure. But she needed to help Akko, and in her current state, she wasn't going to be helping herself any. Sucy wasn't much help either. So that left it all on Lotte. She knocked on the door loudly. On the other side she could hear movement, and then the door swung open slowly.

“Akko, did you lose your key?” Diana asked, before looking up. She paused as she saw her visitor. “Oh, Lotte, I'm sorry, I was expecting Akko.” She paused a moment, clearly reading the intention on Lotte's face, as she quickly continued. “Would you like to come in?”

“Yes please.” Lotte responded, stepping inside. Diana closed the door behind her. Lotte looked around the room briefly. It was clear that Diana and Akko were living here. One side of the room was neatly arranged. The other was a mess. Lotte smiled, and moved to sit in one of the two chairs by the window. They were clearly unused thus far. Diana followed her.

“To what do I owe this visit?” She asked.

“Well.” Lotte began. “Akko's upset. She didn't want to come up and see you until I came to investigate.” Diana paused.

“Why is she upset?” She asked cautiously. Lotte frowned slightly. It was like she expected this to be the case. Unfortunately, Lotte couldn't very well confess Akko's feelings for her. And unfortunately she'd neglected to ask anything about this alleged date before coming here.

“Well, about what you said to Amanda.” Lotte began, she let it hang for a moment, hoping Diana would fill in the blanks. She sighed loudly.

“I see. She thinks that I don't plan to honour our bet.” Diana announced. Lotte nodded a little. Yup, that was absolutely it.

“Akko didn't tell me much about the bet. Would you mind explaining so I know I understand it?” Lotte asked. An entirely believable lie. Technically not even a lie. Being told nothing was not being told much, after all.

“If your team wins the tournament, I was treating her to lunch, as a date. If my team wins, she does my laundry for a week.” Diana explained. “I imagine Akko must think that I intended not to follow through if she won.” Lotte nodded.

“Something like that.” She replied. Diana hesitated.

“Lotte.” She said, looking up at her with a determined face. “I believe that I can trust you not to break my confidence, and tell Akko what I am about to tell you.” Lotte nodded.

“Of course.” She agreed.

“It was my intention to ask Akko on that date if we won anyway.” Diana announced. Lotte smiled at her.

“I see.” She replied. “I...suppose I should go re-assure Akko.” Lotte declared. “Don't worry, your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you.” Diana replied. Lotte nodded, and climbed to her feet. This should help a lot.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Telling Lotte about her plan had not been something Diana was planning on doing. But it had proven necessary. It made sense that Lotte and Sucy would know about their bet. They would be carrying the burden of the bet too. And if she'd upset Akko, tipping her hand early was necessary to smooth things over. She didn't want to lose her chance because of Amanda being a bitch. She'd spoken carelessly to try and get Amanda to leave her alone. She wouldn't make that mistake again.

Diana's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door being fumbled with. She could hear a few attempts at swiping, and then some quiet cursing. She stood up, and walked over to the door, swinging it open. Akko looked up as the door swung open, her face turning to the picture of guilt. She looked like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Diana smiled at her.

“You should ask them for a new key. I think the strip on that one might be getting thin.” She said. It wasn't. No one else struggled. But blaming the key was a good way to help Akko save face. Akko laughed, and Diana noticed her eyes were a little bloodshot as they crinkled up.

“Nah, I just suck at this.” She admitted. Diana smiled, and stepped back, heading for the window. Akko came in, and closed the door behind her. There was an awkward tension in the air between them. They both knew they needed to talk, but neither wanted to. Diana settled in the same chair she had been in when speaking with Lotte. Akko came up, and sat in the other one.

“So...” Akko began awkwardly. “Um...Lotte said you...didn't mean it about cancelling our date?” Diana smiled a little.

“I don't recall any date planned.” She replied, looking over at Akko. “Just you agreeing to do my laundry.” For a second Diana could see despair on Akko's face. It was promptly replaced by a grin.

“Oh, you think you've got this tournament so locked in, do you?” Akko asked. Diana nodded.

“It's only reasonable.”

“I think you're going to lose to Appleton.” Akko announced. “And then you're going to have to get avenged.”

“In that case I would wish my avenger the best of luck.” Diana replied. Akko hesitated a second.

“Really? You're not going to tell me I'd lose?” She asked.

“I didn't say you'd win.” Diana replied. “But I wouldn't want to see Appleton win, so yes, I would be wishing whoever faced them the best of luck. Though I do have my doubts you'd be the one doing the deed.” Akko scowled.

“You don't have to be mean about it.” She retorted. She sounded a little better. “So um...I'm sorry. I know you probably hate me right now. Or you're upset at me at least.” Akko's apology brought Diana to a hard stop.

“Why would I hate you?” She asked.

“Because I told Amanda about the date...” Akko answered.

“Did I tell you not to?” Diana asked. Akko shook her head.

“No...”

“Then you did nothing wrong. I had asked Amanda not to pry into our relationship, and by the sounds of things she ignored me, and went to you instead.” Diana explained. “The fault is on her, not you.”

“So you're not mad at me?” Akko asked.

“No Akko, I'm not mad.” Diana replied. There was a new tension building between them. One that Diana didn't like very much. There was a question lingering between them now. One that Diana knew needed to be answered. She turned to look at Akko. “The truth is, Miss Kagari, I quite fancy you.”


	28. Chapter Twenty-six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little bit "early" because the next chapter came out a bit shorter than usual. It didn't feel right to force another section or two into it though. Not that any of you are complaining I imagine, the anticipation must've been killing you. Comments etc. appreciated as always. They fueled my all last week.

**\---AKKO---**

 

“The truth is, Miss Kagari, I quite fancy you.” Akko's mind was blank. All that was left was that phrase, bouncing around. She wasn't sure what to do. What was she supposed to do here?

“What?” Akko finally managed to say. There was a moment of silence, the word hanging between them. Then it all settled in her head. “Wait! What did you say?” She exclaimed. Diana looked at her hesitantly.

“I am very certain you heard me the first time, and I do not intend to repeat myself.” Diana replied. She had a tone of formality, but her cheeks were red.

“No, really, I don't think I heard it right. One more time?” Akko asked.

“Absolutely not. I should go shower.” Diana replied, turning, and heading to the bathroom. Akko watched her go, grinning. Diana had said she fancied her! The door closed, and Akko whipped out her phone. She opened a chat window with Lotte.

 

_Akko 5:16pm_

 

_!!_

 

_Lotte 5:16pm_

 

_???_

 

_Akko 5:16 pm_

 

_Diana said she fancies me!_

 

_That means she likes me right?_

 

_That's what that means?_

 

_Lotte 5:17pm_

 

_OMG! Yes it does! Did you tell her you liked her back?_

 

_Akko 5:17pm_

 

_...No_

 

_Should I?_

 

_Lotte 5:1_ _8_ _pm_

 

_Would you be upset if you told Diana and she didn't reciprocate?_

 

_Akko 5:18pm_

 

_Yes._

 

_But that's different_

 

_She's so pretty, how could I possibly not like her?_

 

_Lotte 5:18pm_

 

_Maybe she thinks that way about you._

 

_Akko 5:19pm_

 

_No way, that's crazy. You're crazy._

 

_Lotte 5:19pm_

 

_You should tell her though._

 

Akko scowled at the very reasonable advice. She didn't like it. She opened a chat window with Amanda.

 

_Akko 5:20pm_

 

_Hey! You busy?_

 

_Amanda 5:21pm_

 

_bout to be, sup_

 

_Akko 5:21pm_

 

_I need advice real quick_

 

_Diana said she fancies me. Should I tell her I like her?_

 

_Amanda 5:23pm_

 

_duh? Tell me how she is in bed_

 

_Akko 5:23pm_

 

_She...sticks to her side? What's that got to do with this?_

 

_Amanda 5:23pm_

 

_heh, nevermind_

 

Akko scowled at this advice too. It was the same, reasonable response. She didn't want reasonable. She considered messaging someone else for help. But who? Sucy would tell her to listen to Lotte. Constanze wouldn't care, and Jasminka would likely tell her to do what made her happy. Barbara and Hannah would absolutely have some twisted motive behind whatever they said. Maybe she could ask Ursula?

 _S_ he absolutely could not ask Ursula. The idea was cut off, as the bathroom door opened, and Diana walked out. Unlike the other days, she wasn't dressed this time. Instead she came out wrapped in her towel, not entirely dry. Her hair was still damp and frazzled, giving her an uncharacteristically casual, and somewhat sensual look. Akko couldn't help but stare.

“Oh, pardon me Akko, I forgot to take my clothes in with me.” Diana explained.

“I love you.” Akko blurted out in response. She immediately clamped her hands to her mouth. That was not what she meant to say. It wasn't even true. She liked Diana, yes, but love? That was way too intense a feeling to be saying now. But with how incredible Diana looked, it had just...slipped out.

“Pardon me?” Diana asked.

“Nevermind! I didn't say anything!” Akko replied, laughing nervously, and sinking back down into the chair.

“I see. Well, excuse me.” Diana said, picking up her clothes, and retreating into the bathroom to get dressed. Akko hid her face in her hands, and tried to wish away the burning sensation that came with the blush she was certain had covered her entire face.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

“I love you.” Diana was fairly certain that was what Akko had said to her. She wasn't sure how she should respond to that. This was why she'd been avoiding saying anything thus far after all. She didn't know how she truly felt about Akko. And now she was saying she loved her? Diana hadn't had someone say that to her in years. It was a strange feeling. A foreign one. It made her heart flutter. She was nervous about stepping outside of the room. What if Akko revealed it was just a prank? If she'd just said that as a joke? Could Diana handle that? Could she handle it if it wasn't?

The most likely outcome was that Akko didn't mean it. Not that it was a lie, however, simply that Akko, in her Akko way, had misspoken. Though, if she had misspoken, that meant she wanted to reciprocate Diana's feelings. That was good. Diana could live with that much. She took a deep breath, and steeled her resolve. Akko liking her was ideal. It was likely. But she needed to be ready for whatever was to come. She stepped out of the bathroom. Akko was sitting in the chair, curled up with her face buried in her hands.

“Akko? Are you okay?” Diana asked softly.

“No.” Akko replied. “Yes. I don't know.” Diana walked over, and sat in the chair opposite her again.

“What's wrong?” She asked.

“I blurted out that I loved you...” Akko replied.

“Do you?” Diana asked softly. She tried not to get her hopes up.

“No.” Akko replied. “I mean, I don't know. I know I like you. But like...we don't really know each other that well.” Diana nodded.

“Not in the ways for love, at least.” She agreed. “I certainly know you very well in some ways.”

“You do?” Akko asked, looking up and frowning. Diana nodded.

“I know you have a bad habit of drifting to the top of the lane whenever you're unsure of what to do.” She answered. “And you telegraph when you're going in by falling back a few steps further than usual. And-” Akko threw a pillow at her.

“Okay, okay, I get it, I have a lot of stupid tells.” She grumbled. “You don't move the same on any hero.” Diana paused.

“I don't?” She asked. Akko shook her head.

“When you dance back and forth, you go a little further or cut it a little bit shorter with each hero.” She explained. Diana didn't know that about herself.

“I see.” She replied. This was not the point of this conversation. “So um...about what you said however...” Akko paused, and shrunk a little. She didn't hide her face again.

“Um...well...like I said. I like you.” She repeated. “Like...like like.” Diana chuckled softly at the phrasing of that.

“I would hope so, you asked me on a date.” Diana teased. Akko nodded. “Speaking of which.”

“Yeah?”

“I think perhaps we should re-define our bet.” Diana said.

“Huh? Why?” Akko asked. Diana looked at her intently.

“Because, regardless of who wins, I would like to go on a date with you.” She explained. Akko's face turned bright red.

“O-oh...” She replied. “Well I mean...I could always pay for the date if you win.” Diana shook her head.

“Absolutely not.” She said firmly. “I don't particularly feel like doing the laundry when we get back.” She teased. Akko scowled at her.

“Fine.” She said. “If I win, you do my laundry instead.” Diana smiled.

“Very well.” She agreed. “And then the winner can choose where we go for our date.” Akko nodded at that.

“Sounds good to me.” She declared. They paused. “Have you eaten yet?”

“No, have you?”

“No. Do you...wanna go get something?”

“Miss Kagari, are you asking me on a date?” Diana teased. Akko looked her dead in the eye.

“Yes.” She replied.

“Then it would be impolite of me to refuse.” Diana said, standing up and offering Akko her hand. “Shall we?”

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

They didn't go far for the date. There was a small restaurant beside the hotel, and without any better ideas, they ended up going there. Akko was glad she didn't have to make any decisions. Her brain wasn't working very well right now. Diana took the lead in requesting a table, and they settled down in a booth with a pair of menus. Akko picked hers up immediately, and began looking through it.

“So, what are you getting?” She asked, happy for something to say.

“I'm not sure yet.” Diana replied. “I've only just picked up the menu.”

“Oh...right.” Akko remarked, shrinking behind the menu to hide her blush. Of course she wouldn't know. Akko started paying attention to the food on the menu. The food here was...English, was the best word she could come up with. Nothing that reminded her of home sadly. It also didn't sound very appealing. There was chicken, steak, lamb, that all sounded good. But the side dishes that came with each didn't, and Akko didn't want to embarrass Diana on their first date. Luckily there was a hamburger on the menu. That was safe. Akko smiled, and placed the menu down, ready to order. Opposite her, Diana had already done the same.

“I'm having the lamb.” She announced, with a small smile.

“Huh?”

“You asked what I was getting. Now that I've decided, I thought you would want to know.”

“Oh, right yeah.” Akko said. Why did she feel like such an idiot right now? Why had she already forgotten what she'd asked?

“What are you having?”

“The hamburger.” Akko answered. Saying it out loud, she suddenly felt like a child, and she shrunk into her seat. Diana just smiled.

“Do you mind if I steal some of your chips then?” She asked.

“That's fine.” Akko replied. They fell into awkward silence while they waited. Finally, the waitress came around, and took their orders. Once she was done, they were left with no excuse for their silence. Akko cleared her throat.

“So uh...” She began, fumbling for a topic. She had no idea. Diana was there for everything they did lately. Well, not everything. Sometimes Akko spoke with Ursula without Diana there. Or Amanda. But Amanda wouldn't be a good topic. So Ursula it was. What had she spoken about with Ursula lately? “Oh! Do you know about the teachings of Arcturus?” Akko beamed. Way to go her, a nice, smart conversation topic.

“I'm aware of them, yes. Why do you ask?” Diana asked. Akko's face fell. She didn't know anything about them really.

“Oh, well Ursula told me about them. She thought I was doing them, since Chariot did it, and she said I'd already accomplished the first lesson anyway.” Akko explained.

“I see. Do you intend to try and follow them?” Diana asked. Akko nodded.

“Yeah! I just...don't know what they are.” She admitted. “Ursula refused to tell me what the second one was.”

“Phaidoari Afairynghor. You do not get the things you wish for, you get the things you work for.” Diana said.

“Is that the second one?” Akko asked. The words sounded familiar. Diana nodded.

“Yes. I was interested in them myself many years ago.” She explained. “Though I never bothered to pursue them seriously. I didn't see much value in them.”

“Oh.” Akko said softly. Diana probably thought she was an idiot for being interested. Diana looked at her curiously for a moment, before smiling again.

“For me, I mean.” She added. “I have no doubt the teachings hold a great deal of use to many other people. But for my personal style, they did little.” Akko beamed.

“Oh, cool! Why do you think they wouldn't work for you?” She asked.

“The teachings seem to work best when coupled with a singular focus. For instance, you and Moonlit Witch. When you try to embody them while taking a more general approach to the game, you tend to have problems.” Diana explained. Akko nodded along.

“Which is what you do, right?” Akko asked. She'd seen Diana play most heroes.

“Correct. I've learnt to play every hero currently in rotation.” Diana answered. Akko smirked a little.

“I've seen you play Moonlit Witch.” She teased. Diana blushed slightly, and placed a hand to her mouth as she cleared her throat.

“Well, almost every hero. Moonlit Witch does elude me, but I'm sure that won't be an issue. A single hero being absent from my roster isn't a significant disadvantage.” Diana replied. Her tone had gotten overly formal. Akko leaned on her hand and smiled. It was cute how Diana's tone got more formal as she was embarrassed.

“Hey Diana.” Akko said softly. Diana looked at her hesitantly.

“Yes?”

“Thank you for taking me to dinner.” Akko replied. Diana blushed.

“You're welcome. I couldn't very well let you go hungry.”

“I'd have gone to get food anyway you know.” Akko replied. “I'm not a helpless kid.”

“And where would you have gone?” Diana asked.

“McDonald's probably.”

“Going hungry would probably be better.” Diana said, crinkling her nose a little.

“You don't like McDonald's?” Akko asked in disbelief.

“I haven't had it, but by reputation alone I know it's bad.” Diana answered. Akko scowled.

“If you haven't tried it, then how can you say you don't like it?” Akko asked.

“There's plenty of things I haven't tried I can say that I don't like. Sticking my hand in a pile of cactus for instance.” Diana answered.

“That's different!” Akko protested. She opened her mouth to keep going, but she was cut off when Diana's phone whistled.

“My apologies Akko, it's Ursula.” Diana said, pulling out her phone. Akko shrugged at her. She was glad for the conversation to be moved away from this fight she was sure she'd lose. Diana was too smart, even if she was wrong, she'd find a way to trap Akko in an argument and be “proven right” even though she wasn't. “Akko.”

“Huh?” Akko looked up from her thoughts. Diana was looking at her intently.

“Ursula has asked me to be the coach to the red team tomorrow. If you find that agreeable?” Diana explained. Akko had no idea why she wouldn't.

“Of course! Let me message Lotte and Sucy about it.”

“Please do. And after we eat, we should probably meet with them to make some plans.” Diana said. Akko nodded.

“Got it.” She replied. As if on cue, the waitress arrived, and set their food down on the table.

 

**\---AMANDA---**

 

The party wasn't nearly as exciting as Amanda had hoped. That wasn't to say it was a bad party, it was just not a great party. They were at some bar, Amanda wasn't too sure which, nor did she care. The party was mostly made up of teams that had been knocked out, though there were some of the ones still in the competition, including Appleton. In addition to the teams, there was a bunch of fans. Sadly, most of the attendees were guys, and the girls were all too busy fawning over Appleton, or some other personal favourite team to be worth pursuing. Amanda spent the first hour or so of the party just socialising with the other teams.

The Aurochs were actually pretty cool dudes, especially Datto. Wakka unfortunately committed to his gimmick a bit too hard, and couldn't pull off the accent well enough to make it work. Team PH was likewise fun to hang out with. They took the loss in good spirits, and were fun to drink with. Eventually however, Amanda got bored of hanging out with guys. The party was already slowing down, and so a bunch of teams had left already, and with them the girls that were interested. The only girls left were Amanda, her team, and the ones flocking around Appleton. Amanda scanned the bar one last time, before she noticed she was wrong, actually. Hannah and Barbara were sitting at a booth a short distance away.

“Yo.” Amanda said, as she settled in opposite them, her last drink in hand. They had been in the middle of a conversation, but as Amanda arrived they both looked up and scowled.

“It's polite to ask before you sit down with someone.” Hannah said.

“Though maybe they don't have manners back in America.” Barbara taunted. Amanda just shrugged.

“You got me. So what were you talking about?” She replied. She was in too good a mood to take the obvious bait.

“It's a private matter.” Barbara answered.

“Not that you'd care anyway.” Hannah added. Amanda leaned forward and smiled.

“Try me.” She said. Barbara and Hannah glanced at each other, hesitating a moment, before seemingly coming to a conclusion.

“We're trying to work out how to hook up Akko and Diana.” Hannah explained.

“Which you're doing a great job of fucking up.” Barbara added. Amanda winced.

“Yeah...sorry about that.” She said. This got a long pause.

“Pardon me, what did you just say?” Hannah asked.

“I said sorry. Geez, no need to be weird about it.”

“There is absolutely a need to be weird about it. I didn't think you knew what sorry meant.” Hannah teased.

“Why are you saying sorry anyway? It's not like you care about this.” Barbara demanded.

“Maybe I do care.” Amanda retorted. “I mean, it's so fucking obvious that Diana is thirsty for Akko.”

“Please don't put it like that.” Hannah said. “She's lonely, and Akko is pleasant company, that's all.” That was bullshit if ever Amanda had heard it. But whatever, not her job to correct them.

“Alright. Point is, she clearly wants Akko, and Akko's interested too, so I want them together as much as you do.” Amanda explained.

“Wait, really?” Barbara asked. Amanda nodded.

“Yeah, absolutely.” She responded.

“Why do you want that?” Hannah sounded suspicious. Amanda considered preparing a lie.

“Because they'll be a hot mess, and I want to see how that blows up.” She answered. “And maybe Akko can get laid in the process. Girl needs it.”

“Well at least we agree on something.” Hannah grumbled. Amanda cocked an eyebrow at her. “That they won't work out. They're going to drive each other nuts eventually. But Diana needs something going for her, even if it's just for a bit.”

“She's never been on a date before.” Barbara explained. Amanda snorted.

“Seriously? I can't imagine how. What with her winning personality.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Hannah snapped. “You hardly know her. All you do is be a bitch to her.” Amanda had to admit she had a point.

“She deserves it.” Amanda retorted. “She acts all high and mighty, like she's better than everyone.”

“She just has standards.” Barbara replied. “I'm sure you must be used to not meeting those.”

“Oh, that's a good one. Whatever, you're trying to hook them up. How can I help?” Amanda asked. She'd had enough of the verbal sparring for the night. They regarded her suspiciously.

“What could you even do?” Barbara asked.

“Besides make Diana more angry.” Hannah added.

“I could talk with Akko. You two don't seem to be great at that.” Amanda replied. “Something about her not meeting your standards, so you have to be bitches to her. At least, I think that's how it works.” That got an angry twitch out of Hannah. Good.

“Fine, sounds good.” She snapped. “Now, shut up and listen to the plan.” Amanda nodded, and took a quick sip of her drink.

“Lay it on me.”

 

**\---SUCY---**

 

Sucy stared at Diana and Akko with a flat look. They were ridiculous. She'd heard from Lotte they'd gone on a date after having a chat about their feelings. That much was good at least. Better than them just keeping it bottled up and being awkward around each other for months. That shit was insufferable. Instead they were now open about their feelings, and still awkward around each other. They'd steal glances at each other, and blush, before quickly looking away. At least Diana was largely focused, as she stood in the middle of them.

“Ursula asked me to be your coach, for lack of a better word, for the next round, while she manages the green team. For obvious reasons, I wouldn't be able to take on that role.” Diana explained.

“What reasons are those?” Sucy asked. Diana frowned at her.

“Amanda and I have had some disagreements about her behaviour recently.” Diana replied curtly. “So I am especially eager to see you defeat them.”

“Are we making any plans?” Lotte asked softly. Diana sighed softly, and shook her head.

“I'm afraid this was sprung on me rather suddenly, so all I can provide you is broad advice on maps and hero selection.” Diana answered.

“So why do we have you as a coach?” Sucy asked.

“Because I'll also be watching the matches, and providing you with feedback on adjustments to make between rounds.” Diana answered. “And so will Barbara and Hannah, so you'll have more opinions to work with than the green team.”

“Great.” Sucy muttered. She didn't particularly like Hannah and Barbara. Diana wasn't great either, but she seemed to at least hold herself to a standard of behaviour to match her snobbish nature. The other two didn't bother. It was infuriating to Sucy. But it also wasn't any of her business, so she kept her head held high, and ignored it. She'd dealt with worse anyway.

“So, what are we banning?” Lotte asked.

“Polaris is the obvious ban.” Diana remarked. “Though perhaps you'll have a better time leaving it open.”

“Why would we do that?” Sucy asked.

“Oh!” Akko exclaimed, slamming a fist into her palm. “It's because they won't have a plan prepared!”

“That's exactly the kind of moronic thinking I'd expect from you.” Sucy replied, smiling. Akko grinned at her. She was used to the nature of Sucy's comments by this point. Diana however scowled.

“It's a completely valid line of thought, that's been proven to work many times in the past.” Diana replied defensively.

“I didn't say it isn't. I just said it's the kind of thing Akko would come up with.” Sucy explained. She was starting to revise her opinion on Diana watching her defend Akko. Maybe she wasn't so bad. If nothing else, she took the bait readily, which Sucy appreciated. Akko had grown too comfortable with her to take any of the bait she threw out there.

“Very well.” Diana said, before turning her attention back to the group as a whole. “So, regarding your bans, you've done well on Ohana against them, so I would recommend leaving that in. Fruitland is perhaps dangerous, so I would consider a ban there. And Rastavan is not a map you do particularly well on. I would consider a ban for those two maps. Assuming you do wish to let Polaris through.”

“And what should we do if we ban some of those?” Lotte asked. Diana took a moment to reflect.

“If your bans get taken up by them, I'd use a ban on Blue Moon as well. I believe that Ohana, and the two Arcturus maps pose your best bet at victory.” Diana answered.

“And what about our picks?” Sucy asked.

“You'll need lockdown.” Diana replied. “So I imagine hook builds for Akko would be good, and Lotte will want to pick Loyal Defender, or maybe Gravity Queen, and Sucy should consider Silent Assassin.”

“I'm not very good at Gravity Queen.” Lotte admitted.

“If you would like, I could spare the time to help you practice for a game tomorrow, and see if that gets you on track. And then if she still doesn't work for you, you can abandon the idea.” Diana offered. Lotte smiled.

“I'd appreciate that.” She replied. Diana smiled back.

“Now, I would like to get some rest. We can review the plan tomorrow.” Diana announced.

“Okay, thank you.” Lotte said.

“Yeah, thanks Diana!” Akko exclaimed, jumping up and bounding forward to hug the girl. Sucy relished the look of awkward discomfort on Diana's face. Finally the two parted, and headed back to their room with a wave from Akko. As soon as the door closed, Sucy looked over at Lotte.

“Those two are going to fuck, aren't they?” Sucy asked.

“Sucy! You don't have to be so crude!” Lotte protested. Sucy gave her a level stare, waiting for an answer. “But um...I think so. Probably not before we're home though!” Sucy shrugged.

“Hopefully they're kind enough to be quiet. I don't want to hear that.” Lotte just sighed in response.

 

**\---HANNAH---**

 

“That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. It's not even a proper plan!” Amanda's words bounced around Hannah's head all through the night, and into the next day.

“We're working on it!” Hannah had snapped. “Besides, it's not like you could do better.” Amanda had folded her arms and just smirked at that. Something about that smirk bugged Hannah. She felt like she was being looked down on. No one looked down on her. Especially not some low-life like Amanda. The next morning Hannah was very pleased to see that Diana was the coach to the red team for today's match, and she was sitting beside them, talking softly about the match. Amanda needed to knocked down a peg or two, and a crushing defeat today would be perfect for that.

“Are we ready for today's match?” Barbara asked Hannah softly. Hannah nodded.

“Yeah, Ursula dropped off her strategies for us last night while you were in the shower.” She explained.

“You didn't tell me that!”

“You collapsed into bed immediately.”

“I wouldn't mind being woken up.” Barbara said. That was a lie. Hannah cocked an eyebrow at her. Barbara sighed. “Fair enough. Has Diana seen them?”

“Not yet. I was gonna give them to her when we get on the bus.”

“Maybe we should wait until after the match she's coaching for?” Barbara suggested.

“It's not that important a match. Even if Amanda wins, she's just going to drop out in the next round.”

“She seems to be taking it pretty seriously though.” Barbara nodded to Diana. Hannah looked over. To her surprise, Diana did actually seem particularly focused on the conversation. More so than Hannah would have expected. She seemed to be paying particularly close attention to Akko actually.

“Wait...” Hannah said softly. Barbara looked at her, eyebrow raised. “Do you think something happened between them?”

“Who?”

“Diana and Akko.” Hannah hissed. Barbara looked over at them for a moment, before gasping softly. She turned back to Hannah, eyes wide.

“It so did.” She whispered back.

“We have to find out what's going on.” Hannah continued. Barbara nodded, before straightening up in her chair.

“But for now, we didn't see anything.” Barbara announced. Hannah followed suit. Looking around the table, everyone else seemed so focused on their discussions about the game that they hadn't noticed them acting odd. That was lucky at least. Breakfast passed fast, and soon they were all crowded onto a bus to get to the event again.

“Hey Diana, here's the plans for our match today.” Hannah announced, as she sat down beside her. Barbara squeezed past them both to sit on the opposite side.

“Thank you. Would you mind holding onto them for me until Akko's match is over?” Diana replied. Barbara shot Hannah a “told you so” look. Hannah stuck her tongue out at Barbara.

“So, Diana.” Barbara started. “You and Akko seem to be getting along well. Did something happen last night?”

“Not in particular. Why do you ask?” Diana replied in a cautious, formal tone. Hannah recognised it well. It was the temporarily concealing the truth tone.

“You two just seemed really...close...this morning.” Barbara replied.

“And we were just wondering. You know, so we don't mess anything up.” Hannah added. “Assuming there's anything to mess up, of course.” Diana sat in silence for a moment.

“Akko was upset after what I said to Amanda last night, and so I decided to inform her of my small, but present, feelings for her. She reciprocated them, and so we went out to dinner.” Diana answered, in a measured tone.

“So you went on a date.” Barbara completed the thought.

“It could be called that, yes.” Diana conceded. Both Hannah and Barbara threw themselves around Diana, and squealed in excitement.

“We're so happy for you!” Hannah announced.

“This is great news!” Barbara agreed.

“Girls, please calm down, it's just one date.” Diana insisted.

“But you organised another one right?” Barbara asked.

“Not...yet. Though we do have a bet regarding a date, so it will sort itself out soon enough.” Diana replied.

“What's the bet?” Hannah asked.

“The winner of the tournament decides where we go on our next date. Though, if either team gets knocked out, whoever knocked them out counts as well.” Diana explained quickly.

“Well now we have to win.” Hannah announced.

“And then we can pick out a nice place for you to go.” Barbara added.

“Girls, please, I do not need you intervening in my love life.” Diana pleaded softly.

“You're right, I'm sure you've got a dress all picked out for the next date.” Hannah said.

“And you know where you want to go.” Barbara added.

“And you have a rough idea of what to do if Akko kisses you.” Hannah continued.

“What if she wants to go dance?” Barbara wondered.

“I know how to dance.” Diana replied.

“With Akko? I mean, she's not going to ask you to a ballroom.” Hannah said. She tried not to sound mean, but she could tell she failed.

“Very well. It's clear that perhaps I could use some assistance in this regard.” Diana replied curtly. Hannah and Barbara crushed her in another hug.

“This is going to be great!” Barbara exclaimed.


	29. Chapter Twenty-seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this one's a bit late and I apologize. This last week just got away from me real bad. As such next week is going to be another INTERLUDE (guest starring InterLEWD, which will be more prevalent in the future).
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!

**\---URSULA---**

 

The problem with taking on coaching the green team herself was that Ursula honestly didn't actually want them to win. From every angle she could view it, it was better for everyone if they lost here. The red team could do with the experience going deeper, and the confidence boost for Lotte and Sucy that should come with it. Amanda would do well to be knocked down a peg too, and hopefully learn a little bit of humility. Assuming the blue team faced them in the finals, the red team would certainly provide more interesting games in that case too. And for the brand name of Luna Nova as a whole, Akko simply was more charming in interviews.

And yet despite all of these reasons, Ursula had decided to coach the green team. And she didn't intend to let them down. Despite how good it would be if they lost, the loss of trust if she sabotaged them would destroy the green team. And even if it wouldn't, her pride as a coach demanded she give them her best. So when they arrived at the event, Ursula pulled the team aside, and pulled out a small stack of papers.

“These are your plays for today's match.” She announced, handing them to Amanda. Amanda cocked an eyebrow at her.

“You really made these for us?” She asked.

“Well of course, why wouldn't I?” Ursula answered. Amanda shrugged.

“We're just, y'know, against the red team. And I didn't exactly listen last time, so I figured we were just winging it.” She explained.

“Well, I don't think I'd be a very good coach if I just gave up on planning for you because you didn't listen one time. And you did listen enough to win, so I think it counts.” Ursula replied with a smile. “And even if it's against the red team, I want to equip you with all the tools you need to win.” Amanda looked away.

“Well, whatever. We'll go have a look I guess.” She replied.

“Thank you. And don't forget you have interviews on the main stage when the show starts. You might want to think a bit about what you'll say.” Ursula reminded them, before turning and heading off. As she walked, she looked over at the red team. Akko was talking excitedly with Diana. It was clear they were going over what they needed to for the game, but Ursula couldn't help but notice the conspicuous lack of paper documents. A tiny bit of worry for the red team started to grow in Ursula's stomach. Perhaps asking Diana to coach for them had been a mistake. She had her own game to focus on after all.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

“Hey Akko, we were hoping you'd be up for being the first interview today.” A tech said, as he walked up to the group.

“Sure.” Akko responded, before her thoughts could fully process what was being asked of her. For a second she worried she'd agreed to something bad, but after a moment she concluded she'd have said yes no matter what. She was having trouble focusing on a lot of things right now. Diana was talking about the game, going over some things to focus on, and what to look out for with the green team. She hadn't composed a concrete plan for them, but that was okay. Magical Burst was a straight forward enough game that “get 'em” was not only a valid strategy, but the most common one.

Akko was paying as much attention to Diana as she could, but it was hard. Her mind kept drifting back to the last night. The date they'd gone on had been wonderful, and told Akko that she definitely wanted to spend more time with Diana. They hadn't kissed or anything, but they had both slept more comfortably. While they didn't end up snuggling, they didn't hide in the corners of the bed, and there was more than a little incidental touching. It had been heaven. If not for the excitement of today's game, Akko wouldn't have ever wanted to leave.

“We'll need you up in fifteen. If you're ready, we could do with you all coming over now to get you a bit more camera ready.” The tech added.

“Alright, are we ready?” Akko asked, looking at Diana.

“I'm confident that nothing more I say will have a significant impact on your chances.” Diana replied with a small smile. Akko beamed back at her.

“Okay, we're ready!” She announced.

“Great, let's go.” The tech replied, leading them over to the stage. Akko was ushered into a seat, where she was quickly brushed over with some make up, and had a microphone clipped to her uniform. Once she was ready, she was ushered over to the couch with Artosis and Tasteless.

“What do I do?” Akko hissed at the attendant leading her over.

“Just wait for them to introduce you, then it's basically a quick conversation, interview hybrid thing.” The attendant answered. Akko nodded.

“Got it.” The attendant quickly jumped off the stage.

“Nice to meet you Akko.” Tasteless said, leaning a bit forward to offer a hand. Akko smiled back, and shook the offered hand.

“Nice to meet you too! I'm a huge fan!”

“Well we're huge fans of you too, so we're even.” Artosis said. “We can chat a bit more after though, I think we're about to go live.” Akko glanced over to where he was looking to see sure enough, someone was counting down to indicate they were going live. Akko straightened up in her chair, and waited.

“Welcome back everyone to the Edinburgh Esports Exposition's Magical Burst tournament. Today is the round of eight, and I'm pretty hyped up for what we've got on today. What about you Arty?” Tasteless began, as the broadcast started.

“Oh yeah, we've got some great matches lined up. Some interesting stories to see play out. And to give you all at home a bit of an idea of what's going on in these games, we're going to be talking to all of the players still in the tournament.” Artosis picked it up.

“Did I hear that right? Did you say all of them?”

“You did hear that right Tasteless. Your ears are still functioning. We're talking to all of them. Starting right now, with the captain of Luna Nova red, Akko!” Artosis announced. Akko watched the camera shift, and on the small screen that showed what was being captured, she saw herself shift into frame. She waved nervously.

“Thanks so much for joining us here today Akko.” Tasteless said.

“Thanks. I'm happy to be here!” Akko replied. She immediately cringed. Why had she said thanks?

“So, today you're going to be up against Luna Nova green. How do you feel about that?” Artosis asked. Akko thought for a second.

“I don't really feel anything about it.” She said finally. “I mean, I haven't really been thinking about it you know? But we always have really fun games in our scrims, so I'm sure it'll be great.”

“I guess that makes sense. I've heard that some people get especially worried about playing against their team mates, since only one of you can get out, and you know all of your strategies, so the games can get strange. But by the same token, that means that one of the teams is guaranteed to get through. How's your team handling that?” Tasteless continued.

“Well, coach Ursula decided to coach the green team, while Diana is coaching us for this game.” Akko answered.

“And for those of you at home who might not realise, Diana is White Witch, the blue team captain.” Artosis added, looking to the camera for this bit of trivia. Akko bit her lip and tried not to blush. Right, they wouldn't know who Diana was.

“We haven't really talked much about it.” Akko carried on the answer. “But, you know, I'm sure they just want to have fun, just like me!”

“Speaking of fun, you mentioned in your first interview that you wanted to be like Shiny Chariot.” Tasteless started. “And you used her catch phrase in your last interview, so a lot of people are wondering if you just want to be great at the Moonlit Witch, or if there's more to that.” Akko nodded.

“Yeah, I want to be just like her! She inspired me to start playing Magical Burst, and to try and join the Luna Nova Witches, so I want to inspire people the same way!” She exclaimed. Both Artosis and Tasteless nodded along.

“It's always really great to hear stories like that you know. Like, to hear how far this game has come, that we've got a generation of players who grew up watching people play, and now want to be like, the next one like them.” Tasteless replied. “And that you want to do the same for someone else too. That's really cool.”

“So, I'm wondering, before we have to say goodbye, can we expect to see a new build today?” Artosis asked. Akko thought for a moment. They hadn't prepared any new builds, but Diana had encouraged them to play a bit differently from their usual.

“Yes.” Akko replied firmly. “Well, kind of. I'm sure you'll see something new, but I don't know if it'll be a new build.”

“You're not about to bust out a surprise Time's Keeper on us are you?” Tasteless asked. Akko laughed.

“Nope! I can't even play other heroes!” She declared. Behind the camera she could see most of the team standing, watching her interview. Lotte, Diana and Ursula all placed a palm to their face, while Hannah and Barbara looked like they were laughing. Perhaps she shouldn't have admitted that in a live interview. Oh well, too late to go back now.

“Alright, that's all we've got time for today, thanks for joining us up here, and good luck in your match today.” Tasteless said.

“Thanks for having me!” Akko replied. She wanted as the camera pivoted away from her, and an attendant came up to guide her off the set.

“How'd I do?” Akko asked as soon as she returned to the group.

“You did great.” Ursula replied.

“Really?” Akko beamed.

“Perhaps highlighting that you can't play anyone else wasn't particularly wise.” Diana interjected. “But you were otherwise rather charming.”

“Don't worry about it Akko, I'm sure a lot of people just thought it was a joke.” Ursula added. Akko smiled.

“Thanks coach Ursula!”

“I bet a lot of people thought she was just a joke too.” Hannah whispered from behind her, loud enough for Akko to hear. Barbara laughed.

“Hey!” Akko snapped, spinning on the spot to glare at Hannah. “You're the joke here.” Hannah immediately flinched back behind Barbara.

“Akko! What are you yelling about?” She whined, peeking from behind Barbara's shoulder and trying to look as innocent as she could.

“You said I was a joke!” Akko insisted.

“No I didn't! You're just trying to pick a fight!” Hannah argued. “Coach, help me!” Akko paused. Shit. If Ursula hadn't actually heard what Akko said, it'd seem she was just jumping at shadows and picking a fight.

“Well, um, I didn't hear anything being said, but it doesn't seem like Akko to just pick a fight.” Ursula began awkwardly.

“Don't worry coach, I got this.” Amanda declared, sauntering forward. She rested an arm on Akko's shoulder and leant her weight on it, staring at Hannah with a grin. “So, you didn't say anything right?” She asked. Hannah nodded.

“That's right!” Hannah replied.

“Then why are you cowering behind Barbara?” Amanda asked.

“Because Akko shouted at me!” Hannah snapped back.

“I don't remember Akko saying a name.” Amanda replied.

“Well she glared at me. It's pretty obvious who she meant.”

“Uh huh, and yet Barbara didn't seem to think she might be the one Akko was shouting at for a second. Almost like she knows you did something and she didn't.” Amanda declared. Akko glanced over to see the grin on her face had grown even stronger.

“Well...” Hannah started, before trailing off and giving up. Ursula cleared her throat, and stepped forward to where she could be seen.

“It sounds like everyone is a little bit in the wrong here.” She declared. “So I think we should just leave things be. Does that work for everyone?” Akko opened her mouth to protest, but seeing the look Ursula was giving them both, she promptly shut it. Hannah did the same.

“That works.”

“Yeah, thanks coach.”

“Good, now let's pay attention to Sucy and Lotte's interviews.” Ursula suggested, nodding to the stage. Sucy was up on the chair Akko had been in, about to start her interview. Off to the side of the stage stood Lotte, looking incredibly nervous as she waited her turn.

 

**\---LOTTE---**

 

Sucy made her interview seem effortless. Primarily because she obviously refused to put any effort into it. She was her usual low-energy self, responding to the questions given to her with simple, straight forward answers. Tastosis seemed a little thrown off at first, but impressively they adjusted quickly, asking simple questions, with a variety of follow up that coaxed longer answers out of Sucy. Far too soon for Lotte's preferences, Sucy was done, and it was her turn. She walked up onto the small stage, and settled down into the chair, trying not to freak out.

“Thanks for joining us Spirits.” Tasteless said. Lotte smiled.

“Th-thanks for having me.” She stammered out.

“We heard a lot about this upcoming match from your team mates, so we won't keep you too long.” Artosis offered. From the look in his eye, it was clear she was reassuring her that she wouldn't be here long, even if he couldn't directly call out the reason for it. “So, why did you get into Magical Burst?” That was an easy enough question.

“My mum played it a lot when I was growing up. She was the coach at our local team, so I played a lot too.” Lotte explained.

“That's really cool. So how'd you end up coming to join Luna Nova?” Tasteless asked.

“Well, um, I didn't really think I'd make it onto a team like this.” Lotte admitted. “I applied hoping to make a practice team, so I can learn more to become a coach later.”

“Wait, you thought you'd only make it onto a practice team, and now you're in the round of eight?” Artosis replied. “Why did you only think you'd make a practice team? You're really good at this game.”

“Well, I mostly only had the people in my hometown to talk to about the game. So I always thought the pro scene was this sort of magical thing.” Lotte explained, blushing. “And I never imagined I'd be good enough to be here. I think part of the reason I'm on the red team is just because I work well with Akko and Sucy.” Lotte had given that some thought, and that was the best conclusion she'd come to. Akko's Moonlit Witch was exceptional, it'd be stupid to waste the short time it had. So she and Sucy were probably paired with her because they could work well with her. Sucy deserved to be on a team like this, but Lotte probably didn't.

“I'm not saying that's true, because I think you're a great player too.” Tasteless began. “But a lot of people underestimate just how much synergy within the team matters. A lot of the time two good players who work well together are better than two great players who can't work together.”

“So now that you're here, have your dreams changed?” Artosis asked.

“Um, not really.” Lotte answered. “I still want to be a coach one day. But while I'm here, I know Akko wants to do a lot, and I want to help her too!”

“Wow. That's the kind of support you see in a winning team. I'm really looking forward to seeing what you guys get up to.” Tasteless said. “But I think that's all we have time for today. Thanks for coming up and chatting with us Spirits.”

“It was fun. Thank you for having me.” Lotte replied. She wasn't lying. They'd done a great job of settling her down, and she wasn't really nervous about how she'd done any more. An attendant gestured to her to step off the stage, and she did so. She returned to the group to find Akko looking at her with teary eyes.

“Lotte!” She exclaimed, throwing herself forward and wrapping her arms around Lotte. Sucy was a step behind her.

“She was really touched by what you said up there.” Sucy explained, as Akko wailed Lotte's name again. Lotte hugged her back tentatively.

“Did you mean it?” Akko asked. Lotte nodded.

“I did mean it.” She replied. “I really want to win something with you. I really want to see you become just like Shiny Chariot.” Akko looked up at her with big, teary eyes and a smile.

“Thank you!” She exclaimed, before hugging Lotte tighter, and starting to bawl her eyes out. Lotte looked around sheepishly. This was kind of embarrassing. The rest of the team was watching. Most of them were smiling. Only Hannah seemed to be scowling a little. Surprisingly even Barbara was smiling. Lotte sighed softly, and hugged Akko tighter, as she started smiling too. Akko was the best captain she could have asked for.

“Okay Akko, let's stop hugging now. We need to go review our plans one last time.” Lotte suggested. Like a switch being flicked, Akko pulled back, the tears stopped, though her eyes were red now. She nodded, determination written on her face.

“Yeah.” She agreed, turning to the others. The green team was heading off for their interview. “Diana, let's review the plan one last time.”

“If you think it will help, I'd be happy to go over it with you.” Diana replied. “Shall we?”

 

**\---AMANDA---**

 

Amanda bounced on the spot as she waited for her interview. She was excited for it, to say the least. Constanze had flat refused to do hers, so it was just Amanda and Jasminka going up. Amanda had decided to let Jasminka go first. That was probably a mistake, since she was taking her time, and Amanda just wanted to be up there already. That said, hearing about Jasminka's past was pretty interesting. Sure, Amanda had heard about the shit she'd been through, but some details had been skimmed which were coming out now. Some details Amanda had heard had been skimmed in the interview too. Like just how shitty her friends had been to her.

Finally Jasminka was finished, and it was Amanda's turn. There was a short delay as Jasminka walked back, and Tastosis stalled for a minute while Amanda walked up, and settled in the chair. She set her broom beside her, and splayed herself out, taking up the whole space. As the camera came on to her, she flashed the cockiest grin.

“And now we're joined by NoCause, captain of Luna Nova's green team. Thanks for joining us today.” Tasteless introduced her.

“I wouldn't miss being here for anything. I mean, I've gotta get comfortable with this chair sooner than later. I think I'm gonna be here a lot.” Amanda replied. Tasteless laughed.

“Well I was going to ask how you're feeling about the next match, but it's pretty clear you think you're going to win.” He replied.

“I think we're going to kill it.” Amanda declared. “Don't get me wrong, Akko's really good, but we know every one of her builds. I'm not going to be caught out by something like the other teams might be.”

“So we can expect something new from you too?” Artosis asked.

“I'm not one to plan and tell.” Amanda announced. “But lucky for you I didn't plan, so yeah, I think we'll be bringing something new.”

“So, we've been learning a bit about the rest of your team, but we don't know anything about you. Why'd you end up joining Luna Nova?” Tasteless asked. Fuck. Amanda really didn't want to get into that. So she just shrugged.

“I wanted to travel a bit, so I applied to a couple of EU teams. NA Magical Burst sucks anyway.” She replied. “Luna Nova seemed the coolest of the ones that wanted me, so I jumped on it.”

“Really? Luna Nova hasn't had the best record these past few years.” Artosis remarked.

“They were just in a bit of a slump. Probably a bit too attached to the main teams they had before. I mean, everyone here for Luna Nova this year is new to the team. Whatever the girls before us did doesn't matter. We're all going to kick ass. Even the blue team.” Amanda replied.

“Well, I can't argue with that. So far you've all done really well. The blue team especially. Who do you think wins between you and them?” Tasteless asked.

“Us.”

“That was quick.” Artosis laughed. “Blue and red team?”

“Red team.” Amanda answered. “The blue team thinks their hot shit. And I mean, they're better than anyone else here, but I think the red team is better. They're just a bit disorganised. Give them a day to prepare and they'll win.”

“And what do you think is next for Luna Nova after this tournament?” Artosis asked. From his tone it seemed like the final question. Amanda just shrugged.

“Dunno. You'd have to ask our coach.” She replied. “But whatever it is, we're going to be winning a lot. So look forward to that.”

“Well, thanks for your time NoCause. Good luck in your match. That should be coming up in about half an hour, to give our players their last few minutes to prepare for the match, and start doing map picks. Good luck in that one NoCause.”

“Thanks, but I won't need it.” Amanda replied with her usual cocky grin. She climbed to her feet, and headed off the stage while Tastosis transitioned into their normal chatter. As expected, she got back to an attendant informing her the team was in their booth getting set up. Amanda set off at a jog towards the booths. This was going to be a fun game, regardless of outcome.


	30. Interlude Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guest-starring InterLEWD.
> 
> Sorry this has to be put here, the game was just a bit of a tough one to write. Hopefully the next game will come out a bit easier. In the meantime, enjoy some more of everyone's favorite coaches*
> 
> *Croix technically could be considered a coach during the flashbacks so this implies nothing about her future role in the story

**\---CROIX---**

 

The door creaked open, and Croix looked up. She'd asked Chariot to come meet her here, but Chariot ended up running late. Better late than forgetful at least. The door swung open, and Chariot slipped inside, clutching something close to her chest.

“What's that?” Croix asked. Chariot turned to face her, a sheepish grin on her face. She had a bowl in her arms.

“Popcorn.” Chariot replied nervously. Croix stared at her.

“You're ridiculous. Come on then.” She said, nodding to the chairs that sat behind her. Chariot walked over, and settled down in one. Croix took the other, and pulled her keyboard and mouse into her chair.

“Here, I made enough for both of us.” Chariot said, placing the bowl on the armrest between them. Croix regarded her for a moment.

“Thanks” She said finally, before picking up a handful. Chariot also took a handful, and shoved it into her mouth.

“So how does this work?” She asked around the food.

“We're going to watch a game from one team's perspective, and then we'll pause occasionally. I'll ask you where the enemy is, and where you could jump to.” Croix began to explain. “And then we'll remove the fog, and see how good your guess was.” Chariot nodded.

“And if I get it right?” She asked. Croix looked at her and cocked an eyebrow.

“What do you mean if you get it right?”

“I mean...what do I get if I get it right?” Chariot elaborated. She sounded nervous. Why on earth would she sound nervous?

“Feedback that you're learning something.” Croix replied. “Let's start.” Chariot scowled, but didn't protest as Croix hit play on the game. For the first ten minutes they just watched. It wasn't a particularly interesting game, but finally a situation presented itself where the entire enemy team was gone. Croix paused the game.

“Where are they?” She asked. Chariot stood up, and walked over to the large TV that was showing the game. She hummed for a moment, before pointing to a bush on the map.

“In there.” She announced.

“Why?” Croix continued. Chariot stared at her blankly.

“Why wasn't part of the deal!” She protested. Croix smiled.

“If you don't know why they'd be there, then you're just guessing.” She teased, before revealing the fog. The enemy wasn't in that bush. Two of them were farming the jungle creeps, while the third was moving to place a ward. The bush Chariot had highlighted would put her square in the middle of all three if she'd tried to jump to it. Chariot scowled at this outcome.

“Let's keep going.” She declared. Croix was surprised. She'd never seen Chariot upset by criticism before. She seemed to take everything she did wrong in stride. It was why Croix was starting to like her. She was at least the most tolerable person on the team. They watched for another minute, before Croix paused it again. The enemy carry had appeared in the bottom lane to farm, before returning to the jungle.

“Where are they?” Croix asked again. Chariot walked over, and this time she clearly gave it some thought. She pointed where the carry had just entered the jungle.

“One.” She said. There was a short pause, then she pointed to the bush nearest to where she just pointed. “Two.” Chariot stepped back, a look of intense concentration on her face. Finally she pointed to one of the jungle camps. “Three.”

“Why are they there?” Croix asked.

“We just saw one walk into the jungle. They wouldn't farm the lane without support, so they've got someone nearby. And then the jungle camps would've respawned by now, so someone would be farming it again.” Chariot explained. Croix smiled. Solid reasoning.

“So, where do you jump?” She asked. Chariot hesitated, before pointing to the bush next to the camp she'd suggested.

“Here.” She announced confidently. Croix turned the fog off. The bush Chariot had picked was no where near the enemy. She'd gotten the first one correct, but the other two were deeper in the jungle, camping in a bush where they could counter-engage the enemy if they went in on their carry.

“At least you're safe this time.” Croix teased. Chariot scowled harder.

“This is a stupid game.” She declared. “I don't want to play anymore.”

“Phaidoari Afairynghor.” Croix reminded her. Chariot glared at her, and returned to her seat.

“Fine. But when I get it right, I better get something for it.” She muttered. Croix sighed loudly.

“What do you want for it then?” She asked. There was a long pause, and finally Chariot mumbled something under her breath. “I didn't hear that.” Chariot looked up, her face bright red.

“A kiss...” She replied softly. Croix paused. What the fuck? Why would Chariot want a kiss if she got it right? Wait. Did she have a crush on Croix? That was ridiculous. Why on earth would she have a crush on Croix? She'd hardly been nice to her. Though, to be fair, this wasn't the first time it had happened. Croix had picked up a few tricks for driving off girls who showed an interest in her.

“Fine.” She agreed. “But if you don't get any right, I get to give you a spanking.” She paused. “A proper one. With tears and everything.” That should do the trick. Pretending you were a sadist was a good way to get most casual crushes to run in terror. Chariot however wasn't running. She was instead chewing on her lip, her cheeks bright red.

“Deal.” She declared. Fuck. It wasn't even like Croix could back down now. If she didn't follow through Chariot wouldn't take her bluffs seriously in the future. Hopefully Chariot would get one right, and she'd get away with a quick peck on the lips.

 

**\---CHARIOT---**

 

Chariot stood, leaning on the back of her chair. Sitting was painful right now. She thought Croix had probably been bluffing. If she'd known she wasn't, she might not have taken that deal. At least, that was what she told herself. The truth was, a chance to kiss Croix was worth it. And though she'd never admit it, she'd kind of enjoyed the price of failure anyway. The only problem was trying to come up with excuses to not sit down during practice. Thankfully, Croix was briefing them on a new plan she'd come up with.

“So, Fruitland.” Croix began. “Everyone hates it, and they usually ban it. But there's some teams that are dumb enough to think their opponents will ban it, and they try and get greedy.” Croix pulled up a map of Fruitland on the screen. Chariot loved Fruitland. It was so colourful and silly, and the few pro games she'd seen on it had been hilarious. Mostly for Khaldor's obsession with the lemons.

“We're going to exploit that, and master it.” Croix elaborated. “Or at least, we're going to prepare a few strats for it, and we'll try and keep it as a pocket map.”

“So what have you got?” One of the girls on the orange team asked. Croix grinned.

“Let's start with the pocket strat.” She declared, and clicked through on her presentation to show a screenshot of a destroyed lemon. The gold it dropped sat in a small circle around where it had been. Croix's character stood beside it. “When you kill a lemon it drops gold. As in, drops it on the ground. Usually this only matters when two teams are fighting over a lemon, or you're farming them together. But I did a small experiment and...”

The screen transitioned to the next slide, showing Croix's character beside a giant pile of gold, and a spawned lemon. “I discovered the gold never despawns. So we're going to send someone into the jungle to farm all the lemons, but leave the gold on the ground. Then our carry who's been farming lane just roams on in, scoops it all up, and buys a powerful late game item.” Croix looked around the room. Chariot followed her gaze. She was met by a lot of cautious looks.

“That's brilliant Croix!” Chariot exclaimed. “You're a genius!” Chariot's remarks broke the ice, and the rest of the girls started to chatter in agreement. Croix locked eyes with Chariot for a second, and smiled. Chariot beamed back.


	31. Chapter Twenty-eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At long last, one of the two games I've been looking forward to the most. They ended up being a bit more basic and simple in nature than what I wanted, but I'm trying to save the big, complex games for when it really matters, and here it...didn't. Despite that, I think it turned out pretty well, and I'm really excited to get stuck into the next chapter first thing tomorrow morning when I'm not dead tired.
> 
> Anyway, comments etc. appreciated as always, especially after an Interlude, since those always (very understandably) have basically no feedback.

**\---AKKO---**

 

The wait for the green team to finish with their interviews sucked. Akko was the last one on the red team to finish setting up in the booth, and she was done before Jasminka had finished her interview. Diana was in there with them, which was nice, though they weren't talking much. They'd gone everything they could, and until the first game was finished, there wasn't much more to say. After an eternity, the green team headed for their booth, accompanied by Ursula, and got set up. Finally Akko saw Amanda pop online, and she was messaged by the administrator for her first ban.

“Fruitland.” She declared, as she sent the message. There was a short delay, before a message came back. “They banned Ohana.”

“That's to be expected.” Diana announced.

“I think we ban Rastavan.” Sucy suggested. Akko nodded. She liked that idea, and so she sent the message to confirm that as their second ban. Once again she had to wait, but finally the response came. They'd banned Arcturus Forest.

“Wait, they can do that?” Akko asked.

“Yes, Arcturus Forest is no longer enforced as a map that has to be played in this round.” Diana explained.

“So...what map do we pick?” Akko looked at the rest of her team.

“I like Blue Moon.” Sucy offered. Lotte nodded.

“I think Blue Moon would be a good start.” She agreed. Akko shrugged, and replied they wanted Blue Moon first. Predictably, the green team picked Polaris for their map. With the maps locked in, and the invitation sent, Diana was beckoned out of the room, just leaving the team.

“Do we actually think we're going to win this?” Sucy asked once they were alone.

“Huh? Why wouldn't we?” Akko asked. Sucy looked at her.

“Because they're actually good.” She replied.

“We've beaten them plenty of times!” Akko exclaimed.

“But that was in practice Akko.” Lotte added. “They didn't have the same plans they have now.”

“But we beat them in the Witches' Cup too.” Akko added.

“Anyone can win a single game. That's why this is a best of three.” Sucy replied.

“Why are you both being so negative?” Akko demanded. “We're not going to win with an attitude like that!”

“I'm just making sure you don't take it for granted.” Sucy answered. “We've had easy games so far, and I don't want to lose because you think you can get away with diving into the fog and it not mattering.” Akko scowled at this.

“I won't do something stupid like that again!” She snapped. The conversation was interrupted by the appearance of a game invite. They got into the game, and the teams sorted, before moving to hero picks.

“Sucy wasn't trying to drag you down Akko. You know that right?” Lotte offered softly. Akko nodded.

“I know, I know.” She replied. She took a deep breath, and turned to smile at Lotte. “I'm okay!” She was okay. The discussion wasn't a big deal, and while Akko would've been annoyed if they'd actually thought they were doomed, but as it was, everything was fine. Akko turned her attention to the picks. Naturally she began with Moonlit Witch. Amanda had locked in Shooting Star quickly, and the picks were revealed much sooner than usual. The green team was first pick after that.

There was a short delay on this one, before they locked in Loyal Defender. Then it was Akko's turn to pick again. She looked at the others.

“What do you want?” She asked.

“Silent Assassin.” Sucy answered.

“Gravity Queen.” Lotte added after a short pause. She'd played a game with Diana earlier as promised, and with some tuition, she'd found Gravity Queen manageable. She was, surprisingly, even confident enough to take a farming position, freeing up Sucy to take the jungle. They'd decided that was a strategy that should be tried at least once. Akko locked in both of the characters and waited. They weren't surprised to see Sorrow Demon was the next pick. The combo was just too good.

“Oh my god.” Lotte breathed.

“Huh?” Akko looked over. Lotte was looking at the skins. She currently had the school girl skin selected.

“It's so cute.” Lotte added. Akko laughed, and looked back at her own computer. She could use a skin. She scrolled through the options for a moment, before settling on the Devil Witch skin. Then she checked her rune page. She had the right one selected for their plan, thankfully. She locked in the details, and watched the countdown approach 0. Then the game began loading, and she flopped back into her chair.

“Let's do this!” She declared, thrusting a fist into the air.

“Yeah!” Lotte agreed, her voice still soft.

“Go team.” Sucy said, raising a fist slowly in an unenthusiastic mirror to Akko.

 

**\---AMANDA---**

 

The red team picks hadn't been what Ursula had predicted. It was a small problem for their plan, but nothing insurmountable. Ursula had clearly refined how she approached plans, as they were a lot more sparse and flexible now. That suited Amanda a lot better. The game loaded in, and she picked up her opening items. It wasn't anything fancy, AD and some potions for sustain. There would be no early game shenanigans this game. The mid-game however wasn't as safe. Amanda headed out to lane, and stepped forward. She really wanted to get some eyes on Akko, and see what her plan was.

The inability to ascertain what Akko was doing without physically seeing her in lane was infuriating. Thankfully Akko hadn't seemed to have realised that hanging back so far she couldn't be seen was one of the best things she could do, and so as Amanda stepped forward into lane, she managed to spot Akko. She was in bow form right now. Amanda tried to imagine what she could expect.

Bow/Rod was a strong option, but a little predictable. Amanda was well versed in how to face it, and she doubted Akko would go for something like that. Bow/Hook had been experimented with. The conclusion was that it was terrible in the majority of cases. Bow/Axe likewise had been experimented with, and put in the bin for situations like this. It led to a solid, bruiser style of play, but it was easily outplayed by the kind of mobility that Amanda would bring. Bow/Broom was very possible too. It was safe, and could give Akko the mobility to get into fights she would otherwise miss out on.

There wasn't any way to work out which it'd be, and Amanda pulled back. She'd be willing to bet on it being Bow/Broom though. The first minion wave spawned, and she moved up to start vying for last hits. Akko was playing fairly defensively, and Amanda matched her. She was keeping an eye on the mini-map, and as they'd expected, Sucy was nowhere to be seen. That meant no fight with Akko was truly safe unless Sucy was visible on the map.

“Akko's in bow form.” Amanda announced as they finished the first wave off. “Can't tell what her second form is, but my guess is broom. So, y'know, look out.”

“Okay.” Jasminka replied.

“How are you doing?” Amanda asked.

“We're winning.” Jasminka answered. Amanda sparred a second to jump her camera to the bottom lane. Sure enough, Jasminka and Constanze had near total control of the lane. Lotte was hanging back, several objects floating around her. The lane hadn't been cleared as fast as the top lane, and Amanda watched as Lotte threw one of the objects to secure a last hit. Expending mana for last hits was the ideal position to put an opponent into. Not as ideal as preventing last hits entirely, but it sapped their ability to pick fights, which was more than you could expect from most lanes.

Overall, the laning remained boring for a few minutes. Amanda didn't know what Akko had picked for her level 1 ability, but level 2 she'd grabbed her E. Frustratingly every form but Axe form had a good use for the E with Bow form, so that information didn't do her much good. But at least she now knew Akko could jump to the other lane if needed.

“Heads up, Akko has her E. If she's broom you could get three-manned.” Amanda announced.

“Two-manned.” Jasminka corrected.

“Huh?”

“Lotte just went back.”

“Oh, nice.” Amanda said. “You gonna ward?”

“Mhm!”

“Be careful.” The plan was pretty straight forward. They'd farm up enough stats early to kill the Blue Moon Spirit, and then they'd go kill it. To that end, warding the jungle was essential. The red team had a small advantage in finding the spirit, as Sucy would be wandering the jungle. They also had a small disadvantage that she could just die to it, but Amanda doubted it. Akko might be that dumb, but Sucy certainly wasn't.

In lane, Akko and Amanda traded one more wave of minions, before pulling back. Something about the way Akko pulled back worried Amanda. It was a bit faster than usual. It wasn't anything concrete, but she just had a gut feeling something was up.

“I'm coming bot.” She announced, heading for the jungle. “Is Lotte back yet?”

“Not yet.” Jasminka replied. “She should be coming though.” Amanda nodded, and headed for the first ward. Best to play it safe. Hopefully she was wrong, and she could leap back to lane. But as the minions appeared, Akko wasn't with them.

 

**\---LOTTE---**

 

Gravity Queen wasn't nearly as hard as Lotte feared. In fact, she was a lot of fun. And incredibly cute. She was just brimming with personality in a way that most other heroes weren't. Despite the intensity of the lane she found herself in, Lotte couldn't help but smile as she listened to Kat's voice lines. Her animations were smooth too, and Lotte had to really try to make her animations jump, in a way that she didn't with a lot of the other, older heroes.

That was about the only nice thing she had to say about the game thus far. Going 2 vs 1 in her first serious game of Gravity Queen, on a big stage like this no less, was not ideal. She found herself feeling claustrophobic, penned in by the presence of the two other heroes who drove her back. She could still find enough CS with her Q, and the mana regeneration runes Diana had suggested ensured she'd be able to sustain it, if she was careful. Even so, the pressure left her open to harassment from time to time, and she'd been driven back.

“I need to go back.” Lotte announced as she recalled.

“Do you want a gank when you're back in lane?” Sucy asked. Lotte chewed her lip for a moment.

“Yes please.” She declared. Early kills weren't part of the plan, but it's not like an early lead ever hurt anyone's chances.

“I'll come down too!” Akko offered.

“Okay.” Lotte replied. With all three of them, it should be easy. She picked up more AP and a bit more sustain. It was unfortunate, as she wanted to save for an early transformation wand, but she knew that was wishful thinking. They were aiming for the late game here. She'd have time to get it. “I'm heading back to lane now.” Lotte announced, as she started moving out of the base. Her passive kicked in, and she began sliding over the walls, and through the jungle. Sucy had already started to move into position to gank, while Akko was ducking back behind the tower to hide from Amanda as she swapped to broom form.

Sucy was the first one out into lane. She stepped out under the tower, looking for all the world like she was here to farm up the creeps that were advancing. She played it cool, and neither Jasminka or Constanze seemed to react strongly. They poked her a little, but mostly left her to soak the experience. Then Lotte arrived. She hard turned into the lane from the jungle, appearing behind the green team, and immediately activating her W.

“Dusty!” Gravity Queen shouted into her ears, and a small smile grew on Lotte's lips. So cute. She hit Constanze, and bounced behind them. They started to turn. Sucy moved forward, and blinked in as well, focusing her attacks on Constanze as well. Jasminka had activated her E however, so they weren't getting through Constanze nearly as fast as they'd like. Then Akko landed, directly on top of the fight, splashing her damage onto the enemy. The gank had been flawless. Constanze was almost dead.

Then Amanda appeared from the jungle, mid-dive. She grabbed Constanze, and whisked her away to safety.

“Damnit!” Akko shouted. “She literally stole our kill.” Sucy snickered.

“Let's just take Jasminka then.” She replied. They turned their attention to Jasminka. They got halfway through her health bar and shields before they Amanda and Constanze got back to lane.

“Oh no.” Lotte breathed. Hitting Jasminka had been a mistake. Sorrow Demon was still in range for her E. Constanze tore into them, inflicting lots of damage, and lifestealing back most of what she'd lost.

“Run.” Sucy hissed. They ran. Sucy got out. Lotte got out.

 

**Sniping Witch has slain Akko for First Blood**

 

Akko huffed in frustration, and flopped back into her chair.

“It's okay Akko.” Lotte offered. “It's just one kill, it's not the end of the world.”

 

**\---AMANDA---**

 

Amanda could not believe their luck. With that single kill they'd effectively won the game. Akko was the biggest threat to their ability to clear out the Blue Moon Spirit. She was just such a wild card that she'd always pose a threat when fighting around the spirit. They didn't bother chasing the red team. They had more important matters to deal with. Instead they pulled back under tower, and all recalled back to the base, healed up, bought more items, then headed into the jungle. The spirit wasn't on the map that they could see, but it had crossed over their wards one time. The wards had been placed in a line across the jungle, ensuring that the spirit would be seen if it moved to a different side of the map.

They moved as a unit, sticking close but taking different paths through their side of the jungle. The spirit had to still be here. It wasn't long before Jasminka spotted it, and pinged the map.

“I found it.” She announced. Amanda and Constanze collapsed into the same area with her, and they got started on killing it. It was a tough fight. Jasminka began tanking, abusing the duration and cooldown of her shield to get two instances close together, and taking most of the hits on her health. With each hit Jasminka took, Constanze's E stacks got higher, and her damage output onto the spirit grew.

As Jasminka got low, she pulled back, and Amanda dashed forward, taking the aggro. She couldn't tank for long, but she could last for just long enough for Jasminka to use a potion, and heal up enough to take over. Amanda was on her last hit when Jasminka moved back in, shield activated again, and Amanda dashed back, breaking the attack animation of the spirit. It turned back to Jasminka, and continued chunking through her health. It didn't matter however. At this stage Constanze had picked up enough stacks that she was taking off significant portions of the spirits health bar with each hit.

 

**Luna Nova Green has slain the Blue Moon Spirit**

 

“Fuck yeah” Amanda whooped, pumping a fist. For killing the spirit, they'd received a large influx of gold, and a Crystallised Wish. It was an item that could be picked up off the ground, and granted it's carrier a second life. After they died, they'd be revived in the same place a moment later. Constanze picked it up, and headed for the jungle to farm. Amanda and Jasminka both recalled back to the base to heal up again, and spend their new-found wealth.

Everything was basically going according to plan. Amanda had to admit, the plans Ursula came up with were pretty good. They should now be in a position to take and win any fight they wanted. So they headed for the bottom lane, and made a shove to take towers. Constanze took the lead, with Jasminka and Amanda hanging back about half a screen behind her. Amanda could easily pluck Constanze from danger if needed, though most likely she and Jasminka would counter-engage any jump onto Constanze, counting on the wish to see them through.

It worked. As they reached the first tower, Akko tried to pick a fight with them, going in on Constanze with the help of Lotte. It was a close call, as the burst potential was high, but Jasminka managed to take some of the damage off of Constanze, and with their flat out higher power level, the three girls rolled over the fight with ease. On the back of the fight they took the first bottom tower, and then the second. They didn't push their luck into the base, and instead rotated top to do the same. The red team didn't bother contesting them this time. Akko was the only one on the map, farming the bottom lane for whatever gold she could get from it. Not that it mattered. This game was effectively over, as far as Amanda could tell.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Diana stood beside Ursula arms folded as she watched the game playing out on the big screen above them. It felt odd to view Ursula as her rival in this moment, but she was. She was the one Diana was trying to overcome with the assistance she was providing the red team. And it was now she was realising just how badly she'd fucked up. The green team's plan was solid. They were exploiting the map and their composition, making a play that really only Loyal Defender and Sorrow Demon could make. It was clearly a plan that Ursula had concocted for them. There was no way that Amanda would come up with it herself.

Which had been Diana's mistake. She'd thought about how to advise the red team against Amanda. A carefully constructed plan wasn't necessary for that game, so she hadn't made one. But Ursula was someone she did need a plan against. And watching how effectively the green team was executing on theirs, the extent to which Diana had failed the red team was sinking in. The extent to which she'd failed Akko.

“That was a good plan.” Diana announced. It was. Ursula should be proud of it.

“Thank you.” Ursula replied with a smile. “Though part of it is luck that you weren't doing something similar.” Diana simply nodded in response. Ursula was giving her too much credit. She shouldn't be standing here, staring at the disaster that was unfolding. She should be making up for lost time, and coming up with an idea for the next game.

She hadn't thrown them into the game without any direction at least. She'd suggested the composition, and the build for Akko. She also had given them a broad overview of a plan. They were aiming to reach the late game, get a transformation wand onto Lotte, and build Akko the have all of her forms available. Thus far they'd been playing an aggressive game, and rarely letting things go late. It was a shame, because Akko was a genuinely talented Moonlit Witch, and giving her the full kit made her truly terrifying. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen this game.

Next game however, would be different. Diana would make sure of that.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Despite their best effort, stalling out didn't really work. The Crystallised Wish that Constanze had just enabled too much pressure. She'd move up, hit a tower, and then be whisked away by Amanda any time she met resistance. And the red team couldn't commit too hard to killing her, because with the Wish, they'd just be going into a 3v3 with less resources than the enemy. So they committed just enough to pressure Constanze away. Lotte was out on the map farming. She could get over the walls without being seen, and zip around the jungle to make money as needed.

Lotte's absence however posed a problem. If Constanze didn't get saved by Amanda, they'd be fucked. Every time Akko or Sucy went for her, they were essentially gambling the game on the green team not calling them on it. Thankfully Sucy had suggested a good way to sell the lie. When she went in one time, Akko had “accidentally” fired her W from the fog, tipping them off that she was waiting to engage if they took the fight. The implication was that Lotte was there too, waiting for them to make a mistake.

The green team didn't make a mistake however. Or rather, they didn't make a “mistake”, because going in was actually the correct choice, though they didn't know that. It didn't really matter though. With every lane they shoved up to the tower, they put a little more damage on it, and sooner or later it'd add up enough to kill the tower. They had to make a move before that. Thankfully they were actually getting some gold from the waves they had to clear out, and Akko had picked up enough items to adjust to a three-form build.

“Lotte, are you ready to fight?” Sucy asked after Constanze zoomed away from their last fight. The tower could survive maybe one more push like that.

“I think so.” Lotte replied. “I can buy a transformation wand now.”

“We need you back here then.” Sucy replied. “Put the wand on the courier, we'll need both ults.” Lotte recalled back, and Akko pulled back to the fountain to buy her final item. She picked up an Enchanted Quiver. It was a relatively weak AP item, which made a heroes auto attacks deal a portion of their AP as bonus magic damage. It was a good item to let Moonlit Witch keep up in auto attack fights.

“How are we taking this fight?” Lotte asked. Akko thought for a moment. Diana had absolutely demolished them when she'd initiated with Gravity Queen's ultimate. With luck, it could work the same way here.

“I think you should initiate.” Akko declared. “Try and catch Amanda too.” Lotte took a deep breath.

“Okay, I can do it.” She said. She sounded like she was trying to reassure herself more than anyone else. Akko smiled.

“I believe in you!” She said.

“Thanks Akko.” Lotte replied.

“They're coming again.” Sucy announced. Akko moved over to the top tower to get ready to follow Lotte up. Lotte followed, and once she was in range, she activated her W, and hurtled towards Constanze. She hit, and bounced to the other side. Constanze made no move to pull back, or engage the fight. She just kept focusing the tower down. “Shit, they're just going for the tower.” Sucy hissed.

Akko swapped to broom form, and dashed forwards, before picking out rod form, and throwing down her polymorph. That should buy them a little time at least. Sucy also blinked in, and started laying into Constanze. With all three of them, they managed to kill her quickly. Sorrow Demon fell to the ground, and a beam of light began to descend onto her. As soon as it landed, Constanze would be back.

“Get ready to ult as soon as she's back up.” Sucy told Lotte.

“Got it.” Lotte replied. She sounded very determined.

“You got this!” Akko cheered her on. They could win this one.

The light was almost on Sorrow Demon when suddenly Jasminka appeared between them, blinking in with some flash powder. She immediately activated her ultimate. Constanze revived, but none of them could do anything. They'd all been caught by the taunt, and were now attacking Jasminka. Amanda flew up as well, her move speed passive maxed out. Together, Amanda and Constanze removed Lotte from the fight. Next was Akko. The taunt ended when they were only halfway through Akko's health. She threw out her polymorph onto Constanze, and then threw her Q at Amanda. The knockback technically stopped her moving, and denied her the stacks of the passive. The loss of Lotte wasn't the end of the world. They could still make it all work.

Jasminka advanced on Akko, and shoved her back. Akko ignored her, and tried to advance on Constanze, but Jasminka was doing a good job of body blocking her. Sucy was also trying to finish off Constanze, but the polymorph wore off, and both she and Amanda fought back. It was a slaughter. Constanze had so much damage from Jasminka's ultimate, and so much life steal, that she easily healed up all to full as she took down Sucy.

Finally, the green team turned on Akko. She focused her damage on Jasminka, and managed to secure that kill at least, before going down herself. They'd been aced. Akko flopped back in her chair.

“Do we lose?” She asked.

“Yup.” Sucy replied, already typing “gg” into the chat. Akko didn't contest the auto-surrender.

“Oh well, we'll do better next time.” Lotte offered with a smile. Akko smiled back at her.

“Yeah!” She agreed.


	32. Chapter Twenty-nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a bit longer than I wanted, but it was my birthday this week so like, I took a day off for that, which is the excuse I'm going with. Anyway, we're coming into the home stretch of the Edinburgh arc, so I can confidently say that they WILL be on the train home by chapter 40 at the very latest. And there's a decent chunk of gay to happen on the way. Hope you all enjoy!

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko looked up as Diana walked into the booth, and sunk a little into her chair. Diana looked angry. She couldn't blame her. They should have done better. Diana took a deep breath, and Akko prepared for the beratement that would follow.

“I apologise.” Diana said. Akko paused.

“Huh? What are you apologising for?” She asked.

“I didn't consider the role Ursula would play in preparing the green team's plans. I should have spent more effort on preparing you.” Diana elaborated. “I spent a few minutes putting forward an attempt to fix that, but I'm afraid it isn't enough.”

“It'll be better than nothing.” Sucy said. Diana frowned slightly, but nodded.

“Of course. So, for your composition, I would advise Sucy on Crimson Lady, and Lotte on Gravity Queen again.” Diana explained.

“But I didn't make it work last time...” Lotte replied uncertainly.

“You'll do great Lotte!” Akko reassured her, turning to look at her with a massive grin. Lotte smiled back nervously.

“I agree with Akko.” Diana said. “Your performance was more than sufficient. Only people who haven't played seriously would dare to criticise you.” Lotte's smile grew a little bigger.

“Okay, I'll do it.” She declared.

“Good. For lanes, Akko and Sucy will both take a lane solo. Lotte will be roaming between them, and occasionally jungling. For that reason, everyone should build a large amount of sustain to open up the game.” Diana continued to explain. “In the mid-game, you'll want to keep an eye on the altar, and be ready to fight over it as needed. I wouldn't bother committing to taking it unless you secure an ace, or a double kill without losing anyone. I'm afraid I couldn't come up with anything more concrete than that however.” Akko shot a hand up.

“What build am I taking?” She asked.

“Oh, of course. I was thinking you should try for your defensive Bow/Rod combination.” Diana replied. Akko nodded.

“Got it!” She replied. Diana pulled a small scrap of paper from her pocket, and handed it over.

“I took some notes as I tried to think of this. They aren't complete, but it's the best I can offer you. I hope this was sufficient. I'll be thinking of what to do on Arcturus Tower. Hopefully what I bring you will be more useful.” Diana explained. As she spoke, a member of staff waved her out. She kept talking until she was at the door, where she paused for a moment. “Once again, I apologise. Good luck.” And then she was gone. Akko let out a sigh of relief.

“I thought she was going to yell at us.” She declared.

“She likes you too much for that.” Sucy replied. Akko shook her head.

“No way. Diana would yell at anyone if she thought they deserved it.” She argued. Sucy seemed to be mulling that one over.

“You're probably right.” She conceded finally. The game invite popped up, and Akko accepted. The set up happened pretty quickly, and soon they were into picks. Akko insta-locked Moonlit Witch, as always. Amanda apparently had done the same, as Shooting Star was promptly revealed as the green team pick. This time Akko was picking first.

“Who first?” She asked.

“Lotte.” Sucy replied. “A repeat pick is more predictable.” Akko nodded. That made sense. She locked in Gravity Queen. The green team picks came in pretty quickly. Titanium Maiden for Jasminka, and Calamity Cowgirl for Constanze. Akko paused.

“Does this change anything?” She asked.

“No.” Sucy replied. Akko still thought about it a moment. Sucy was probably right. Besides, it was Diana's plan. How could it be bad? She locked in Crimson Lady.

 

**\---BARBARA---**

 

Barbara watched as Diana stepped out of the booth. She glanced around, before spotting Barbara and Hannah, and making a beeline over to them. Barbara admired the way Diana didn't let the setback of the red team losing bother her. She walked with her usual confident, head held high. Most other coaches would be coming out with some clear signs of stress. It was a shame Diana didn't plan to make a career of Magical Burst. She'd easily excel in every facet of it.

“Girls, I have a favour to ask of you.” Diana announced, coming to a stop in front of them.

“Yes Diana?” Hannah and Barbara asked in unison. They didn't intend to, it had just become habit by this point.

“Would you mind watching the red team with a critical eye this game?” Diana requested. “I appear to have under-estimated the amount of effort Ursula would be putting into preparing the green team, and I need to prepare a more detailed plan for the next map.” Barbara and Hannah shared a quick look. Hannah clearly didn't want to. Barbara didn't want to either.

“Alright, fine.” Barbara replied, trying not to let her annoyance creep into her voice. “We'll work out some pointers for your girlfriend.” A tiny blush crept across Diana's face.

“She's not my girlfriend.” She replied.

“Yet.” Hannah teased.

“Girls...please. I need to focus on this game.”

“Well, get to it.” Barbara said. “We'll watch the game, don't worry.” Diana smiled at them.

“Thank you.” She said, before turning on the spot, and walking off with purpose.

“This sucks.” Hannah grumbled once Diana was out of earshot.

“Tell me about it.” Barbara agreed. Either way she reached into her handbag, and pulled out a pad and some paper. Hannah did the same. They'd started carrying them after the last time Ursula had suggested taking notes. “It's not like we can really say no though.” Hannah nodded.

“I wonder if Diana even realises the position she puts us in when she does this.” She mused. Barbara thought about it. She honestly didn't know. Diana wasn't oblivious, she probably knew that they didn't feel like they could say no. But she was also a fairly kind person, and likely wouldn't abuse such a feeling if she was aware of it.

“It doesn't matter now.” Barbara declared, dodging the question. “Besides, maybe we can call this a favour, and push her towards Akko a bit more.”

“She's doing a fine job of that by herself.” Hannah retorted. Barbara turned her gaze to the screen, making sure she wasn't missing anything. Hero picks were over, but they were still heading out to lane.

“Yeah, but how long will that last?” Barbara asked. “We're talking about the girl who told Akko she wasn't gay.”

“And then proceeded to crush on her.” Hannah added. The two of them laughed softly.

“She's an idiot.” Barbara said softly.

“But she's our idiot.” Hannah agreed.

“So, do you want to split up what we look for?” Barbara asked. Hannah shook her head.

“I think we just both look at everything, and compare notes when we're done.” She replied. Barbara nodded. That made sense. She turned her focus to the game, where the first skirmishes had begun. She wasn't too surprised to see that while Lotte was in lane with Sucy, she was quickly starting to rotate away, and move through the jungle to assist Akko as well. After all, this was a plan Diana had suggested. It stood to reason it would be similar to what they ran. Occasionally Lotte would stop to jungle, dropping all of her held items on the camp, and finishing them off with a few auto attacks. Barbara made a quick note that her cooldown management wasn't great. She could be clearing an extra camp a minute or so, if she was slightly more efficient with how she paced out her attacks.

The first few minutes of the game were otherwise rather boring. Sucy didn't seem to be doing great, but that was to be expected when she'd been handed a 2v1. With Crimson Lady she was able to sustain herself, and keep securing last hits without much trouble, but she couldn't gain any ground to harass back, and she had to consume a potion here and there to remain viable in the lane. When Lotte returned, the balance of power temporarily swung back in favour of the red team. The unexpected presence of an ally for Sucy gave her the power boost to fight back, and they managed to push Constanze off the lane on Lotte's third visit. Barbara made a note that really that should have happened on the second gank.

Akko was faring much better. Her defensive set up was a natural counter to Amanda's style. She'd made a few attempts to kill Akko, but they were all deflected, and Amanda was punished for them. Barbara was especially happy to see Amanda knocked down a peg. Perhaps that would teach her some god damn manners. Barbara wasn't holding out hope for that. Despite Akko's success, she never managed to secure a kill. Even when Lotte came in for a gank, Amanda managed to escape. As they reached level four, Amanda seemed to mellow out, and give up on the fights, focusing on simply matching Akko for last hits.

With this decision, the game ground to a halt in terms of fights. It was just two teams, farming for levels and waiting for the chance to strike. By level five, Lotte gave up on ganking, and focused her attention onto the jungling. Barbara glanced down at her notes. There was actually a decent amount there. To her surprise, most of it was about Lotte. Well, that made sense, she supposed. Lotte was playing a hero Barbara was quite experienced with. Of course she'd notice more mistakes from her than anyone else. She sneaked a peak at Hannah's list. It was a lot more well rounded, despite the fact Sucy should have been her focus, if her theory held up. Barbara grimaced, and tried not to dwell on this fact. Instead she turned her attention back to the game, just as the fountain came up for the first time.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Amanda was missing from lane. That, in and of itself, wasn't too strange. Akko had pushed her low, and she probably had to go back. No, the problem was that the fountain had just come up, and Amanda should be returning to lane by now. But she wasn't. Which meant only one thing. Amanda was getting the fountain.

“Amanda's missing.” Akko announced. “I think she's going for the fountain.” She couldn't be there yet. There was still hope for Akko to stop her. Akko went to recall.

“Constanze and Jasminka are missing too.” Sucy reported. That confirmed it. They were making sure someone got the fountain. They were all level six too.

“I'll go delay them from getting the fountain!” Akko declared. She finished recalling, and immediately bought some boots. With level six, her wiggle-room for accessing each form increased a bit, allowing her to activate her broom form with the boots. She glanced at the map, taking a quick guess where the enemy team would be. Right by the fountain, on their side. If she wanted to interrupt the channel, the best thing she could do right now was to jump right on top of it. So that's exactly what she did. She channelled her E, and fired off into the air.

When Akko landed at the fountain, she found only Jasminka waiting for her. She wasn't channelling anything. As soon as Akko landed, Jasminka started hitting her. It wasn't much damage, and Akko swapped to bow form to start duking it out. She would come out ahead in this fight. Of that she was certain.

“They're not here.” Akko remarked.

“Akko, look at your lane.” Lotte suggested. Akko glanced at the mini-map. Both Amanda and Constanze were now in her lane, pushing it hard. Without her there to help, they'd easily get the tower. They might even get two, in all honesty. Akko had fucked up. Akko had fucked up a lot.

“Shit. Um, can you stop them?” She asked.

“I won't get there in time.” Sucy replied.

“I can't stop them both by myself.” Lotte added.

“We might be able to take a tower in return, but they're clearly building towards this, and I'm not.” Sucy said. Akko glanced at the lane again. Amanda had bought a sapper, and used it to disable the tower while they laid into it. They'd very much planned this. Akko turned her focus back to her fight.

“Well, I'll just have to kill Jasminka, and take the fountain!” Akko declared. That was, however, easier said than done, as Jasminka had built up a large stack of armour by now. Even so, Akko was getting through her health, slowly but surely, and soon Jasminka was fleeing. Perfect. Now Akko could grab the fountain. She started channelling as the first tower went down in her lane. Not to worry. She could kill them both with the fountain, and take a tower back. She was almost there. Just three more seconds of channelling would do it.

Moonlit Witch suddenly stopped channelling, as for a split second she was stunned. Akko blinked. Then she realized. Jasminka hadn't run away away. She'd pulled back for a few seconds, and then seeing Akko wasn't in pursuit, returned, and used her E. The reality of the situation dawned on Akko. She could never trust Jasminka to run away and leave her alone to get the fountain. She would always be available to mess up Akko's channelling. She had to be killed. So Akko started chasing her in earnest. She'd get this kill, and then she'd get the fountain, and then she'd win the game.

 

**\---AMANDA---**

 

Amanda was a little surprised Akko took the bait so readily. Only a little, however. Ursula knew her students well, and of all of them, Akko was the most predictable. She was somehow, also the most unpredictable. It was an odd contradiction, but somehow, for Akko, it just made sense. Jasminka led Akko through the jungle, towards Amanda. She stayed in the lane for as long as she could, pulling back and then re-showing herself occasionally so that when she left for real, it wouldn't feel as suspicious. She wasn't watching the lane. Constanze would ping her if she needed to do something other than auto attack the tower while on a patrol command.

Then, Akko crossed the threshold that said it was time for Amanda to go. She pulled back into the fog, and slid down from the lane into the jungle, weaving forward, towards Jasminka. Akko had, predictable, swapped to broom form to ensure that Jasminka couldn't escape. She dashed forward, and got directly on top of Jasminka. The trap was set. Jasminka activated her ultimate, locking her and Akko into a tiny ring together, and began hitting her once more. Amanda dived in with her Saviour Dive, and joined in the fight, also laying into Akko. Without a dash, locked in the ring, Akko was doomed. She almost killed Jasminka, but with a well timed stun from her Q, Jasminka saved herself.

 

**NoCause has slain Akko for First Blood**

 

“Fuck yeah.” Amanda cheered. “How you going Cons?” She was answered with a single ping on the tower. Then it fell. “Nice. Alright, let's hit the fountain.” Amanda glanced at the mini-map to see what was going on. Lotte and Sucy had been in the other lane, pushing it out, but they'd disappeared. Amanda could guess where they were going. As soon as she was in range, she saviour dived onto the fountain, cancelling it before she dashed back. As predicted, Lotte and Sucy were there, with Sucy channelling the fountain. Amanda attacked her once, interrupting the channel.

Amanda immediately kind of regretted diving in. It had been necessary, of course, but that didn't mean she liked it. Lotte and Sucy turned on her, dumping all of their damage on her. She was dropped low, and had to dash away to try and survive. She passed Jasminka and Constanze, and let out a sigh of relief. Constanze blinked onto Lotte and Sucy, and immediately activated her ult on Lotte.

 

**SnipingWitch has slain Spirits**

 

The burst of six attacks immediately killed her. Immediately Constanze turned on Sucy, animation cancelling from the ult with a roll, and hitting Sucy with an automatic critical. The two of them started to duke it out, and they looked quite evenly matched. Then Jasminka got into the fight. She interrupted one of Sucy's attacks with her mini-stun, before closing in, and landing her proper stun.

 

**SnipingWitch has slain Mushroom**

**ACE**

 

“Atta girl Cons. That was sick.” Amanda cheered. “Who's taking it?” Constanze pinged her. Amanda cocked an eyebrow at her.

“You sure?” She asked. Constanze gave a firm nod in response. “You got it.” Amanda replied. She walked up onto the platform, and started channelling the fountain, while both Constanze and Jasminka recalled to return to the lane they were pushing. With the staggering of the ace, they could easily take the next tower uncontested.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko grit her teeth as she watched the next tower fall. She was alive. She could go out there and pick a fight. But she'd be going into a 3v1, and she'd absolutely get slaughtered. So she waited by the third tower. Waiting for her team to get back, so they could try and take the next fight better. She barely had any more items over the last fight, and Amanda had the Polaris buff. It wasn't a good situation for them. But Akko was confident they could do it. Lotte and Sucy respawned, and headed back out to join Akko for the fight.

“What's the plan?” Sucy asked.

“Lotte dives in and ults. Sucy walks in with her ult afterwards. I'll clean up anyone who survives.” Akko replied.

“Alright...” Lotte replied uncertainly. Akko knew it was a similar plan to her last one. But that was because it was a good plan!

“I believe in you Lotte!” Akko exclaimed. “You can do it!” Lotte nodded.

“Time to go.” Sucy declared. Sure enough, Amanda had walked up, and was pushing the tower. The other two were hanging back, sitting outside the base.

“Do I still do it?” Lotte asked.

“Yes.” Akko replied firmly. The dream for Gravity Queen was to strike when the whole team was in a group, since she could lock the whole team down. But Akko figured just grabbing Amanda was worth it. It's not like the others could help her. They'd all get hit by the black hole as well.

Lotte went for it. She activated her W, and flew towards Amanda, before bouncing past her, and into the area behind her. There, Lotte activated her ultimate, locking down Amanda. Sucy dived in to try and finish her off, while Akko went for the others. If Amanda didn't die during the lockdown, Akko figured the others needed to be driven back a bit. She got up close to Amanda, and fired off her bow's W, hitting all of them, before moving closer to the others. She focused her attacks on Constanze. Jasminka was annoying, but alone she couldn't do much. Constanze however could clean up the rest of the team if they weren't careful.

Constanze seemed to be largely ready for this move however. She hadn't attacked anything recently, so she was on the first shot of her six, resulting in an instant crit onto Akko. Constanze rolled, and landed a second crit. Akko frowned. That was a lot of damage. She should be able to make it work though. She swapped to rod form, and polymorphed Constanze, before swapping back to bow form to increase her overall damage.

Her dps was interrupted when Jasminka stepped forward and stunned her. Akko's frown turned to a scowl. Sure, it was what they were meant to do, and Akko had expected it when she went in, but that didn't mean she had to like it. The CC wore off of Akko and Constanze at much the same time. Idly Akko found herself wondering what Constanze had skilled up. She hadn't seen her use Calamity's dynamite ability which was pretty common.

The train of thought got interrupted as Akko noticed that Constanze was on her 5th shot. One more, and then she'd be getting another free crit. Akko wasn't sure she'd survive that. She'd need to drop as much damage as she could right now. It'd been a while since she'd gotten to do this, and despite the tension of the fight, a big grin formed on Akko's face as she tapped Q, and clicked on Constanze.

“Shiny Arc!” She murmured under her breath. She didn't want to distract the others. Moonlit Witch pulled the bow back powerfully for a moment, before firing at Calamity Cowgirl. The arrow exploded, dropping Constanze low. One more attack should do it. Constanze had gotten another attack in, so she'd have a short delay before she could attack again. Akko clicked again, making the last auto-attack. Calamity immediately tossed aside her pistol, and drew another one, shooting Moonlit Witch before the attack could go off.

 

**SnipingWitch has slain Akko**

 

“What!” Akko exclaimed. She'd gotten side-tracked from thinking about Constanze's abilities, and ended up forgetting about the other one. Quickdraw. It primed Calamity Cowgirl to draw a new gun as soon as she was attacked, and instantly reload and attack the opponent targeting her first. Akko turned her gaze back to the fight with Amanda she'd stopped paying attention to. Amanda hadn't died to the black hole, and had ended up Saviour Diving further into the base to relative safety. She'd effectively been fleeing from Sucy while she tried to recover some health with a potion. Now however she was ready to fight again, and the whole team collapsed inwards.

 

**NoCause has slain Mushroom**

**SnipingWitch has slain Spirits**

 

“Well, that's game.” Sucy remarked. Akko wanted to argue, but she was right. The green team was taking the barracks, and they'd be moving on to secure the game next. None of them would respawn in them to prevent it.

“gg” Akko typed. There was a short pause, and then the game was over. The red team quietly packed up, and shuffled out of the booth. Akko was kind of expecting to see Smix there, but of course, she wasn't. She was over by the other booth, getting ready to talk to the green team.

“I think I'm gonna go for a walk.” Akko announced. She tried not to let her dejected feelings creep into her tone, but from the looks Lotte and Sucy gave her, she hadn't succeeded.

“Do you want us to come with you?” Lotte asked. Akko shook her head.

“I just need some time to think.” She answered, as she started to walk off.

“That's a first.” Sucy teased. Akko waved over her shoulder to let her know the joke had been appreciated.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Diana had caught the tail end of the game. When she'd heard in the cast that a big fight was breaking out, she'd put aside her planning to watch. It was a pretty crushing defeat if she was being honest. One that should have been avoided. If only Diana had actually taken her job seriously. She looked down at the plan she'd started to write, before tearing it up. It was useless now. Just like she'd been to the red team.

As the team shuffled out of the booth, she saw how upset Akko seemed. She lacked all of her usual energy. After a short exchange, she started heading off to leave the lounge. Diana set off after her. It was her fault that the red team had lost, and Diana had every intention of apologising to Akko. She crossed the floor in pursuit of Akko, losing sight of her a few times, but always regaining it. As they hit the edge of the lounge, Diana reached forward to wave, preparing to call out.

Then she hesitated. Was she really the person Akko needed to see right now? She was the reason Akko was out of the tournament after all. Slowly, her fingers curled in, and finally she dropped her hand, watching as Akko headed into the crowds. Diana wasn't sure she was making the right decision here. Perhaps she should follow after Akko, just in case she was needed.

“Diana!” Her thoughts were interrupted by Ursula's voice. Diana turned to looked.

“Oh, hello coach.” She said.

“Is something the matter?” Ursula asked, a small concerned frown immediately forming on her face.

“I'm just worried about Akko.” Diana answered. “She walked off quickly after the match, and I'm worried she's taking her loss poorly.” Ursula nodded.

“That's very kind of you.” She said. “However, your match is coming up in an hour, and I know you haven't yet reviewed your plans. You should go read over them with your team.” Diana hesitated, before nodding.

“Of course.” She conceded. Ursula was right. She should be looking to her own game. Hannah and Barbara were counting on her as well.

“And to help put your mind at ease, I'll go speak with Akko.” Ursula offered. Diana nodded.

“I would appreciate that, thank you.” She replied. “I'll go prepare now.”

“Good luck.” Ursula said with a small smile. Then the two turned, and headed their separate ways. Diana however, hesitated one last time, looking over her shoulder after Akko. What if she was the one Akko needed right now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hero Profile for Calamity Cowgirl  
> Roles: Carry, Nuker, Initiator, Pusher
> 
> Six-Shooter(Passive): Calamity Cowgirl needs to pause to reload her revolver. Reloading takes slightly longer than a single auto-attack, during which time Calamity Cowgirl cannot attack. After reloading, the next auto-attack Calamity Cowgirl makes is an automatic critical hit.
> 
> Combat Roll(Q): Calamity Cowgirl dives to the side, quickly moving a short distance and ignoring unit collision. The first auto-attack Calamity Cowgirl makes after this roll is an automatic critical hit.  
> Dynamite Toss(W): Calamity Cowgirl lights a stick of dynamite with a random fuse length, and prepares to throw it. Only she can see the length of time remaining on the fuse. On a second cast, the dynamite is thrown. When the fuse runs out, the stick of dynamite explodes, dealing lots of damage to all characters in a small range.  
> Quickdraw(E): Calamity Cowgirl prepares herself for a showdown. The next time she is targetted by an auto-attack, she instantly draws a new pistol, and fires first, reloading her gun and dealing a critical hit.  
> Fan the Hammer(R): Calamity Cowgirl fans the hammer of her revolver, firing a shot at the target hero every 0.1 seconds, until she's emptied her revolver. 
> 
>  
> 
> Comments are appreciated, as always!


	33. Chapter Thirty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh...sorry for the delay on this one. Life, y'know, happened, and I didn't get to write much this week. BUT, here we are, with a new chapter, and hopefully life is gonna happen less this week, and I won't keep you in too much suspense about this game. Also next time, I'm going to put hero profiles in the beginning, so you don't have to scroll down to learn about the new relevant heroes.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy! Comments appreciated as always!

**\---URSULA---**

 

It took Ursula a little while, but eventually she found Akko on the second floor, sitting with her feet dangling over the edge of one of the many overlooks around the centre. Ursula walked over hesitantly, and paused a short distance away.

“Akko? Do you mind if I join you?” Ursula asked. Akko startled at the sound of her voice, and looked up.

“Oh. Hi coach. I don't mind.” She replied softly. She didn't sound quite as sad as Ursula expected her to.

“Are you doing okay?” Ursula asked, as she sat beside Akko. She felt like a kid, sitting with her legs over the edge again. Akko took a minute to respond.

“Yeah, I'm just thinking.” She answered finally.

“What are you thinking about?” Ursula pushed softly.

“The game.” Akko said. “And...other stuff.” She sounded like she was trying to dodge out of providing an actual answer to that second one, so Ursula left it.

“And what are you thinking about the game?” Ursula pushed gently.

“Phaidoari Afairynghor.” Akko said. “I think I get it.”

“You do?” Ursula asked, surprised. “When did you find out what it means?”

“Diana told me.” Akko explained.

“Oh, of course.” Ursula said. “So, you get it?”

“Yeah. We just...kind of assumed we'd beat the green team. Y'know, cause we did in practice all the time. And when it wasn't going great, I tried to jump blindly like Chariot.” Akko started. “But...we didn't work to make a plan to win, and just trying to do what Chariot did without practising doesn't work. None of the other things I did to try and copy Chariot did ever worked without practice, but I just figured...since I know everything else, I could do that too.” Ursula smiled as she listened.

“That's very good Akko.” She said. “I'm very proud of you for coming to that conclusion by yourself.” Akko turned, and smiled at her sadly.

“I um...I also realised that just wanting to date Diana won't get me there.” Akko confessed. “So...that's something else I have to work for.” Ursula looked away, a tiny blush on her cheeks. She had not realised that Akko and Diana were already acting on their interest in each other. She had known they were interested of course, she possessed eyes after all.

“Well, that's not something I can really give you any help with.” She replied awkwardly.

“But...can you help me to learn how to blind jump like Chariot?” Akko asked.

“Of course I can.” Ursula answered.

“How did Chariot learn anyway?” Akko continued. This time the blush on Ursula's cheeks was quite intense, and she had to look away. That was not a memory she wanted to dwell on.

“Painfully, she said.” Ursula answered. “But um, she spent a lot of time watching replays, and guessing where the enemy was in the fog. And then she tried to explain why she thought they would be there. Eventually she could recite the thinking of most teams to explain how people ended up where they did.”

“That's so cool!” Akko replied. Ursula glanced back. Akko's eyes were practically sparkling as she stared at Ursula in wonder. “Can we do that when we go back?”

“Of course. I'd be happy to train you the way Chariot trained.” Ursula replied. She wouldn't recreate the entire experience however. That would be weird on many levels. “I think Diana's game is coming up. Do you want to go cheer for her?”

“Yes please!” Akko replied. The two of them climbed back to their feet, and started heading back.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Watching him give an interview, Diana was reminded of how much she disliked Andrew. He carried himself with an arrogant aloofness that infuriated her. They'd known each other as children, and back then he'd showed no interest in e-sports. Now that it was more popular than ever before, he'd taken an interest, but his dismissive attitude of the past never truly went away. Listening to him talk, it was clear he viewed the game as a means to an end. The confidence with which he spoke of his victory was infuriating as well. Like the game he was playing later that day had already happened.

Eventually he was done however, and her turn approached. Diana would say she didn't understand why Andrew was given a slot so early in the day, but she did. He was popular, especially among the female audience, and the event clearly wanted to milk that for viewers. Diana could only slightly blame them.

“White Witch, you're up.” One of the attendants said, gesturing to the stage.

“Thank you.” Diana replied, stepping forward. She strode confidently up to the stage, and gently settled into the chair.

“Thanks for joining us up here White Witch.” Artosis began.

“It's a pleasure to be here.”

“So, you were coaching the red team in the last match, and things didn't seem to go great for them. Before we get to your game, could you give us a little insight into that?” Tasteless asked. Diana nodded.

“Of course. We simply weren't anticipating such an aggressive posture from them.” Diana began. “It was largely my fault however. The red team played as wonderfully as always. I was the one who failed to account for the green team's plans.”

“How have the red team taken it?” Tasteless asked.

“I'm not too sure yet.” Diana answered. Behind Tasteless she saw Akko and Ursula return. Akko looked over at her, and waved, a big grin on her face. A small smile crossed Diana's lips. “But I imagine they're taking it well.” She concluded.

“That's great to hear. So, let's talk about you. How do you feel about your next match?” Tasteless asked.

“I've reviewed the plan our coach made for us, and I'm very confident we can win.” Diana replied. “However, I wouldn't want to write off my opposition just yet.”

“Well, I don't think we're going to be able to hear anything about your plan for this match, so let's talk about what brought you to Magical Burst, and Luna Nova specifically.” Artosis suggested.

“You would be correct there, yes.” Diana replied. “As for Magical Burst, I've always found the level of dedication to excel in the game interesting. And growing up, I was always fascinated by the...perfect dance that play at the highest level turned into. Which I believe is why I got into Magical Burst. Luna Nova was just a logical extension of that. It was the best team in England when I was a child, and despite it's seeming decline in recent days, I am confident it will be the best team once again.”

“Well, seeing the performance of the Luna Nova teams so far, I'm sure no matter what, you'll be a team to watch into the future.” Tasteless said. “One last question, is there anything you'd like to say to your fans today?”

“Thank you very much for your support.” Diana replied. “I'm afraid I don't really have a message to share beyond that just yet. I'll be sure to have something more to say at the next event.”

“Alright, thanks for joining us up here White Witch. Best of luck in your next game.”

“Thank you for having me.” Diana said. The camera panned away from her a bit, and she took that as her cue to leave. The interview had been a bit short, but she didn't mind. She wanted to check if Akko was okay. Finding Akko proved surprisingly easy, as both she and Ursula were waiting for her when she was free of the production crew. To Diana's surprise, Akko immediately threw herself forward, tackling Diana into a hug. Diana hesitated a moment, before awkwardly hugging back.

“I'm sorry I lost!” Akko said.

“You did nothing wrong.” Diana replied. “I was the one at fault.” Akko squeezed her a little tighter for a second, before letting go.

“Good luck in your match.” Akko paused, a cheeky grin forming on her face. “If you win, then it doesn't matter if you lose the next match. Amanda's still going to win the bet for me!” Diana felt her expression harden somewhat.

“I think your loss has perhaps caused you to overvalue Miss O'Neill's ability.” She said firmly. “I assure you, I will be emerging victorious in this bet.” Akko shook her head.

“Nope! I'm gonna win!” She insisted. Diana was slightly impressed by how utterly childish Akko was being. There was absolutely nothing to her retorts, like a child insisting she hadn't been shot because she had a bulletproof shield.

“If you're so confident, I'm sure you've already picked a place for lunch. I know I have.” Diana lied. It was on the agenda for this evening at least. Akko paused a moment, clearly baffled, before determination re-asserted itself on her face.

“I have!” She declared boldly. Diana smiled.

“I'm glad.” The conversation was interrupted by an awkward cough. Diana glanced over to see Ursula standing there, looking very awkward. “My apologies coach. I should have remembered you were here before letting Akko drag me into her banter.”

“Oh, it's alright! I don't mind, really! I just wanted to wish you luck for your game. Since we've made it this far, I also thought perhaps we could have a celebratory dinner tonight. Assuming you win, of course.” Ursula explained.

“That sounds lovely.” Diana replied. “Thank you.”

“Great! Well um, good luck. I think you're almost up. Do you understand the plan?”

“Yes, I do. If you'll both excuse me, I'll go and get started on setting up in the booth.” Diana excused herself, heading off.

“Bye Diana! Knock them dead!” Akko called out. Diana raised a hand over her shoulder in acknowledgement, as a smile formed on her face.

 

**\---AMANDA---**

 

Amanda wasn't sure how she felt about their victory. She was happy, of course, to still be in the tournament. She didn't doubt that they deserved it. It wasn't liked they squeezed out a win with some gimmick strategy. But she felt a little guilty kicking Akko out. At least Akko had taken it really well. She'd pulled Amanda aside, and made it very clear she had to win the tournament. Not because of any pride of Akko's of course. No, it was all about that stupid bet she'd made with Diana. They'd apparently gone on a date after Amanda's prodding. Though she wouldn't say it, Amanda absolutely took full credit for that development. But since they both wanted another date, the bet was now for who picked the date, as well as doing the other's laundry for a week. The thought of Diana being humbled by doing Akko's laundry was enough to light a fire under Amanda. She'd absolutely win the whole damn tournament for that.

And she'd have to win the tournament, as the blue team easily stomped through their game. That didn't come as a surprise. The semi-finals was going to be the green team against some seeming nobodies called Twid, and the blue team against Appleton. Even if Appleton won, they'd still count for the purposes of Akko's bet. Amanda wasn't particularly phased however. She was very confident they could do it. Before that however, Ursula had arranged for a celebratory dinner. Despite the fact the red team had just been removed, and Diana's not-so-subtle grudge against Amanda, the atmosphere at dinner was actually pretty pleasant.

“Hey, what's the red team even gonna do tomorrow?” Amanda asked after they'd all ordered. The thought had suddenly come to mind.

“I think they'd free to do whatever they want.” Ursula said. “Though if they're willing to spend some time helping me prepare that would be nice.”

“I don't mind helping out. There's a few things I'd like to go look at thought.” Lotte immediately offered.

“I'll help too!” Akko added.

“Thank you girls, I appreciate it.” Ursula replied.

“Who are they gonna help?” Amanda asked. Ursula chewed on her lip for a moment, thinking it over.

“I could help Diana!” Akko offered.

“I'm not sure...” Ursula started to say. Akko gave her the saddest puppy dog eyes imaginable. “...that you could do much for Amanda, so Diana is a good choice.” Ursula amended her thought. Akko beamed.

“Might be an idea to put Lotte on them as well.” Amanda suggested. “Twid seems like a bunch of nobodies, but Appleton might actually be a problem.” Ursula nodded.

“If you wouldn't mind Lotte?” She asked. Lotte hesitated a moment, before smiling.

“I don't mind.” She said finally. Amanda glanced across the table at where the blue team was chatting. She felt kind of guilty tossing Lotte in with those bitches, but she didn't really need the help, and Lotte might actually contribute something if she was helping them. She could, at least, offset the burden of Akko. Amanda might want to see the blue team humbled, but she wanted Luna Nova to win more. After all, a victory here would mean more prize money. Maybe better sponsorships. Maybe some half decent hotel rooms next time. Or an extra one for Ursula, so she could also go solo. The conversation drifted a bit, though Amanda stopped really paying attention. Eventually the whole red team had dragged itself into a discussion, and Ursula had peeled herself free to move over to Amanda.

“Amanda.” She said softly.

“Huh? Yeah?” Amanda replied as she zoned back in.

“I noticed that you and Diana have a lot of tension between you.” Ursula continued in her soft tone. Amanda frowned slightly.

“That's a way to put it.” She didn't bother keeping her voice down.

“How would you put it?” Ursula asked.

“She's a stuck-up bitch.” Amanda answered. Ursula sighed.

“You might be facing her in the finals if you both win. I wouldn't want that to further sour your relationship.”

“What relationship?”

“You're on the same team. You might not like each other, but you have to work together. Assuming you both want to stay, that is.” Ursula explained. Though it wasn't explicit, the threat was clear.

“Guess I'll have to quit then.” Amanda replied with a shrug. “Shouldn't be hard to find a new team anyway.”

“I'm sure you won't have any issues.” Ursula replied. “Though I'm sure Constanze and Jasminka would be very upset to lose their third player.” At that, Amanda paused. She hadn't considered that. Her knee-jerk response would be to assume they'd come with, but she wasn't sure of that. They also didn't appear to have made as strong of a first impression as she had, making them a much harder sell for finding a new team. She scowled at Ursula.

“That's dirty.” She snarled. Ursula smiled at her sweetly.

“I just want what's best for the team.” She replied.

“What do you want me to do then?” Amanda snapped.

“Just...try and make amends with Diana. Please?” Ursula asked. Amanda sighed.

“Fine.” She said. The food arrived at that moment. “After I eat.”

“Of course.” The meal was really fucking good. Amanda made sure to savour it. She wasn't stalling going to speak with Diana. She just enjoyed the meal. It was rare to find a good steak like this, and she didn't plan to waste it. Eventually however she was done. With some reluctance, Amanda climbed to her feet, and walked around to the side the blue team was sitting at. Hannah was the first one to look up as she approached.

“What do you want?” She snapped.

“I wanted to talk to Diana.” Amanda replied.

“I think you've said enough to her already.” Hannah snapped.

“Didn't realise Diana needed her lapdog to protect her.” Amanda retorted. Hannah's face went bright red, and her lips turned to a snarl.

“Hannah, it's okay.” Diana said. She turned her gaze to Amanda. “Please refrain from insulting my friends Miss O'Neill.” Diana's tone was cold. Amanda couldn't blame her. Well, she was already off to a bad start. Amanda took a deep breath.

“Yeah, you're right, sorry.” She said, glancing at Hannah as she said it, clearly denoting the apology as being to her as much as Diana. Hannah looked very taken aback. Diana however retained her usual impassive face.

“And what was it you needed from me?” She asked.

“I wanted to say sorry to you too.” Amanda said. “For, y'know, prying into your business with Akko, and being a bitch about it. If it helps any, it's mostly cause I thought you and Akko would be good together.” Diana was silent for a moment.

“I accept your apology.” She said finally. “Though I would still appreciate you staying out of my business.”

“Well, y'know, can't help it if I win a bet for Akko.” Amanda teased. “But yeah, I'll do my best.”

“I suppose that's all I can ask.” Diana conceded. There was an awkward moment, before Amanda nodded.

“Alright. Cool. Good talk.” She said, before heading back to her chair. Ursula was smiling at her. This better not have been a total waste of time, Amanda mused. Or else she'd be extra mad at Ursula's tricks.

 

**\---AKKO---**

 

Despite the loss, Akko was in very good spirits when they returned to their rooms after dinner. Things had been put into perspective, she felt. Now she could focus her attention on the far more important thing in front of her. Diana. She had a vague plan on how to win her way into Diana's heart and actually start dating her. The hug after the interview had been part one of that plan. Akko figured if she was a bit more liberal with physical affection, she might be able to push the idea into Diana's head.

It also meant she could stop curling up on her side of the bed. After all, if they happened to touch in their sleep, that was just another step forward in her cunning plan. The next step was to take Diana on a date. She couldn't let Diana choose where though. She'd never respect Akko as a partner that way. So Akko had to assert dominance, and dictate where the date was. Technically, Amanda winning the bet for her was a form of asserting dominance. At least, that's what Akko told herself. Then when they went back to Luna Nova, she could ask Diana out on the weekend, and secure a first kiss, and with it a proper relationship. Akko was fairly certain that was how it worked.

“Akko?” Diana asked hesitantly. Akko blinked, and zoned back into the real world.

“Huh?” She replied.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I said your name four times.” Diana said. Akko blushed a little.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about...” Akko hesitated a moment. Fuck. What should she say? She couldn't really tell the truth could she? But lying to Diana wouldn't go well. Fuck it. “...how I was going to win your heart.” Technically the truth.

“I see.” Diana replied, her face starting to turn a little red. She glanced away. “Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go shower. You said you wanted to help me prepare, so would you mind pulling up Appleton's match today on the laptop?”

“Oh, sure thing!” Akko replied, as Diana headed into the bathroom. Akko sat down at the laptop, and turned it on. While it booted up she pulled up her phone, and opened her conversation with Lotte.

 

_Akko 8:23pm_

 

_Lotte! Is it weird if I tell Diana I'm trying to win her heart?_

 

_Lotte 8:23pm_

 

_I don't know. It might be a bit strong, but I think it's cute._

 

_I mean, if someone told me they were trying to win my heart, I'd think it's a little romantic._

 

_But I'm not Diana_

 

_Akko 8:24pm_

 

_Obviously. You don't drive me crazy :P_

 

_In more than one way._

 

_Lotte 8:24pm_

 

_That's cute._ _Good luck!_

 

Akko smiled as she looked at the conversation. She was kind of surprised by how supportive Lotte was. Diana hadn't exactly been the nicest person at first, and Akko expected that to have her friends upset at her. But neither Lotte nor Sucy seemed to care. Akko glanced up at the screen to find that the laptop was done booting up. She pulled up Twitch, and started digging through the vods of the tournament to find the match Diana wanted.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Diana disliked how often she found herself thinking about Akko in the shower. It was hardly proper behaviour for a woman of her position. But here she was, standing naked under the water, dwelling on the way Akko had claimed she was going to win Diana's heart. Perhaps the frequency of this occurrence was a major factor for why she found herself wanting Akko to succeed. It was an odd feeling, knowing she wanted to be seduced.

A small part of her was also upset however. The notion that she might be viewed as a prize to be won had always rubbed her the wrong way. Though most people who believed such were boys with similar stations to her. For obvious reasons, none of them stood a chance, but they all felt entitled to success. Diana was fortunate that most didn't care for Magical Burst, and she could easily deflect them away without significant offence being taken. Akko's claim reminded Diana of those boys. But Akko didn't know that, she was just trying to flirt, and Diana found herself forgiving Akko before she'd even really thought about it.

Diana finished the shower, and stepped out, picking up her clothes and starting to get dressed. While stepping out in a towel in front of Akko had likely contributed to their current situation, she didn't intend to repeat it. Especially if Akko was looking to win her heart. It wouldn't be sporting of her to just stumble naked into Akko's arms would it?

When she emerged from the bathroom, Diana found Akko sitting in front of the laptop, the replay of Appleton's games from earlier in the day waiting on the screen. Akko had her phone out, and was tapping away on it while she waited. For a second, Diana just stared at the sight, taking in this ridiculous, cute, wonderful girl that she was falling for. Akko looked up, and Diana glanced away.

“Oh, you're out. Are you ready?” Akko asked. Diana nodded.

“Yes, I believe so.” She replied, walking over and settling onto the second chair Akko had pulled around for her.

“I thought we'd want today's matches, since they were actually a bit challenged today, y'know?” Akko explained.

“Was that your idea?” Diana teased. Akko hesitated.

“No. I asked Ursula.” She admitted. Diana smiled.

“Well, asking Ursula was a very smart decision. So you deserve some credit. Shall we begin?” Diana asked. That concession seemed to please Akko, as she grinned.

“Yeah!” She replied, reaching for the mouse, and hitting play. The two girls watched in silence mostly, only occasionally speaking to share a thought or two on the match. The team was flexible, they quickly learned. Frank, the only member Diana wasn't familiar with, always played support, but Andrew and Louis played with support and solo equally well. The two had fairly different tastes in heroes however.

Louis favoured melee heroes he could make bold plays with. Across the three games he played Exalted Equestrian, Silent Assassin, which led to a loss, and finally Dancing Duellist. Duellist was by far his best hero, and Tastosis confirmed as much. From their speculation during picks, he'd also brought Trickster to a game once before. Diana suspected he'd be placed with the support in their matches, as she preferred ranged heroes where possible.

Andrew was the exact opposite. His play style favoured keeping his distance from fights. To this end, Magic Marksman was his most common pick, but he'd played Rapture Ranger in one game, and Grenadier was mentioned as being among his heroes as well. As a general rule, Andrew rode into fights a little late, letting Louis take the heat, before sweeping through and cleaning up the kills that had been prepared for him. It was infuriating to Diana to see the ease with which Andrew was just handed success, and the way most people genuinely thought he was a good player.

“So, what do you think?” Diana asked finally.

“Andrew isn't very good, is he?” Akko replied, not really answering the question.

“I don't believe so, no.” Diana agreed.

“I thought he'd be really good from his interviews, but that felt like gold-level plays.” Akko mused.

“Do you have any other observations?” Diana asked. Akko thought for a moment.

“They don't like spell casters very much.” She said finally. “They seemed to struggle a bit when fighting them.”

“And what would you do?”

“Use Rod/Broom form.” Akko replied instantly. Diana laughed softly.

“That won't do me much good.” She admitted. “Perhaps we should start making a proper plan for my lane.” Akko nodded.

“Let's do it!” She replied. Diana tried not to interpret that inappropriately.


	34. Chapter Thirty-one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here we go, the "short" one! Sorry it's a bit short but when you get to the end you'll hopefully understand why I stopped where I did. Is the next chapter finished? Not sure! I'm on the fence about ending where I did, or writing one more section. I'll probably end it there though. Now, in a break from tradition, all of the profiles are done for this chapter, and I'm posting them FIRST, so there will be no surprise mechanics. Rest of my thoughts at the end.
> 
> Hero Profile for Empress  
> Roles: Carry, Initiator, Disabler
> 
> Oppress(Passive): Empress deals bonus damage to all targets effected by a disable.
> 
> Decree(Q): Empress decrees an attack on the enemy, giving herself, and all nearby allies a bonus to their move and attack speed.  
> Alienable Rights(W): Empress strips the rights of her foes, robbing them of their ability to speak. All enemies within a radius are silenced for a short duration.  
> Bureaucratic Swamp(E): Performing actions in the presence of Empress requires an excessive process to obtain permission. All enemies within a small area around Empress have their movement speed slowed by a small amount.  
> Command(R): Empress commands a single foe to move. Target opponent makes an immediate move action to target location. Can store up to three stacks. 
> 
> Hero Profile for Grenadier  
> Roles: Carry, Pusher, Initiator, Disabler, Escape, Nuker
> 
> Explosions!(Passive): Grenadier is incapable of making an attack that isn't explosive. All of her auto attacks, and single target items and abilities inflict a small area of effect of damage.
> 
> Grenade Volley!(Q): Grenadier volley's three grenades at an area, inflicting significant area of effect damage to enemies.  
> Defensive Discharge(W): Grenadier activates her emergency explosives, triggering an explosion in a small ring around her, at a short distance out. Enemies caught in the explosion are dealt minor damage, and are stunned.  
> Satchel Charge(E): Grenadier throws down a satchel of timed explosives. When they detonate, they throw all characters on them directly away, and deals damage to enemies caught in them. Grenadier may detonate the explosives early by casting the spell again.  
> Rain of Grenades(R): Grenadier opens fire with both of her grenade launchers, lobbing a stream of grenades at her enemies, and inflicting massive damage to all enemies within a large cone in front of her.

**\---AMANDA---**

 

The ease with which they ended up winning their game was actually really disappointing to Amanda. She'd expected it, of course. Constanze had been reviewing their opponent's games, and they clearly weren't very good. Even so, she had held out a little bit of hope that they'd get an actual challenge. There was no such luck however, and within three quarters of an hour of entering the booth, they were heading out to their next interview.

“Congratulations on making it to the finals, how are you feeling?” Smix asked, as the interview began. Amanda shrugged.

“Kinda numb, honestly.” She replied. “I kinda expected to still be in the booth at this time.” Smix laughed.

“You were expecting a hard game then?” She asked. Amanda nodded. It was a lie, but she didn't want to seem like a total bitch.

“Yeah, Cons was up real late last night making plans for us, and we were all a bit worried coming in. Guess the planning paid off at least.” Amanda answered diplomatically.

“So, are you going to be cheering for Luna Nova blue today?” Smix asked. “There's a lot of rumours going around that you and White Witch don't get along that well.”

“Tough question.” Amanda laughed. “Uh, I kinda want Appleton to win, because we've still got a few pocket picks, and the blue team has practised against them all. But nah, I'm gonna be cheering for White Witch. We've been fighting a bit lately, but like...she's still good, y'know? And I want a real challenge in the finals.”

“Are you suggesting that Appleton won't be a real challenge?” Smix asked. Amanda had to admit, she was good at grabbing the implication and running with it.

“Well, I didn't say that.” Amanda replied, putting heavy emphasis on the say. She let the implied but hanging in the air for a moment. “So yeah, rooting for the blue team today.” Smix chuckled.

“Alright, thanks for chatting with me. I'll let you get to it.” She said. Amanda nodded, and the camera man stopped recording, leaving her free to go rejoin the team. After their solo interviews, interest in grabbing Constanze or Jasminka had dropped sharply. They'd both picked up a decent following online, but no one would accuse them of doing good interviews. As Amanda returned to the team, Akko jumped up, and threw herself at Amanda, hugging her tight.

“You did it!” She exclaimed. Amanda laughed softly.

“Akko, could you get off me?” She asked. Akko slinked back looking sheepish. “And of course we did. Couldn't let Diana get off that easy could I?”

“I'm not sure if I should be disappointed or flattered that my suffering is your primary motivation for winning here.” Diana announced, as she stepped up beside Akko. “Congratulations, either way.”

“Thanks.” Amanda replied. There was an awkward tension in the air between them. “Uh, good luck in your next game. Knock the stupid smug look of Andrew's face.”

“I imagine you'd say the same to anyone playing against me, but I appreciate it.” Diana replied. Amanda smirked a little. Diana had some pretty solid banter, when she was so inclined. England was rubbing off on Amanda too much. She'd never have said banter back home. “Speaking of our next game, we should be doing more review.”

“Huh? You're not playing for another two hours.” Amanda replied.

“And we should be spending at least some of it preparing.” Diana said. “I don't intend to repeat the mistake I made when coaching Akko.”

“Right, cool.” Amanda said awkwardly.

“You were amazing!” Akko re-iterated, as Diana led her away. The majority of the team followed, with only Lotte pausing to congratulate Amanda. Once they were gone, only Ursula remained.

“Well that sucks.” Amanda muttered.

“Is something the matter?” Ursula asked, as she stepped up. She was clearly also about to head off to help with the preparation.

“Just...y'know, expected a bit more fanfare for making it to the finals.” Amanda admitted. Ursula hesitated a moment, clearly thinking over how to respond to this.

“If it's any consolation, I think people aren't particularly excited for you because we all expected you to win.” Ursula offered. “But no one is sure if the blue team is going to win today.” Amanda thought about that for a moment.

“Y'know, that does help, yeah.” She replied. “Well, since I can't really prep for tomorrow for a few hours, I'm gonna go check out the Gravity Rush experience.”

“Have fun!” Ursula replied, before also heading off to help the blue team prepare.

 

**\---HANNAH---**

 

To Hannah's surprise, both Akko and Lotte actually were quite insightful about the plans they were putting together for the match. Akko less so, of course. She at least understood what was being discussed, and made the occasional observation about what might go wrong. With six people combing over the plan, they ended up with something fairly simple, yet comprehensive. With an hour left until their game, Ursula declared they were taking a half hour break.

“We don't have time to waste on frivolous distractions.” Diana had argued.

“This is the most important match you've ever played.” Ursula retorted. “I don't want you going into it worn out. You should be barely warmed up when you start. So you're going to spend thirty minutes doing anything else, then you'll set up in the booth, and spend your last bit of time practising last hits and combos.” Diana didn't look happy about it, but she complied. Hannah didn't blame her. She wasn't happy about it either.

That was until about ten minutes into the break, when she realised just how tense she had been. After a short deliberation, she'd slunk away from the group with a laptop to watch a video. Specifically, an Achievement Hunter video. It was a guilty pleasure of hers, and one she absolutely could not allow anyone else on the team to find out about. Especially not Barbara. But apart from the rather low level tension of potentially being caught, she was relaxed. She didn't end up finishing the video, but when she returned, she felt a lot better.

“Alright girls, time to get set up in the booth.” Ursula announced as they returned. Barbara looked as relaxed as Hannah felt, though Diana still seemed a bit tense. Hannah wasn't surprised. Relaxing wasn't something Diana...did. They packed up their stuff, and walked into the booth, setting up, and loading into a practice lobby.

“Are you feeling alright Diana?” Barbara asked as they got started.

“Yes, I just wasn't too sure what to do with my time.” Diana replied.

“What did you end up doing?” Hannah asked.

“Reading.” Diana answered. “What about you too?”

“Oh, you know, I was reading too.” Barbara replied quickly. Hannah hesitated a moment. What should she say? Well, the best lie was the one that was almost the truth.

“I was just watching a video.” She declared. Thankfully neither of them asked further. Once again, Hannah found that Ursula was right. Having taken a bit of time to unwind, she was now finding herself a bit out of the rhythm, and her last hits weren't quite on point. After a few minutes however she was back in the groove. She swapped character, and started to regain the feel for someone else's last hitting patterns. By the time they were supposed to be picking maps, Hannah felt like she was ready for anything.

“They're banning first.” Diana announced as she got the message. Hannah closed out of her game, and turned her attention to the matter at hand. “They banned Ohana.”

“Well that's good.” Hannah replied. Diana nodded.

“What do you girls think we ban?” She asked. Hannah went over the plan. Ohana was a map they'd been willing to play, but didn't want to if they could help it. Rastavan Ruins and Blue Moon Abyss were also maps they wanted to avoid. Fruitland was something they'd argued about a lot too. Eventually it was agreed by the team they didn't want to attempt Ursula's strategy, and despite Akko's insistence it was incredible, Ursula accepted that they shouldn't do it. Which left them with the two Arcturus maps, and Polaris.

“Blue Moon.” Hannah suggested.

“Not Fruitland?” Diana asked.

“I think we risk it.” Barbara agreed. Diana nodded.

“Alright, let's do that.” She said, sending in the ban. There was a short, tense pause. “They banned Tower.” She did not sound pleased. Hannah didn't blame her, she wasn't pleased either. Appleton hadn't shown much of Fruitland or Rastavan, so it was hoped they'd want to ban out a least one of them. That they were willing to take both of them through to the match was concerning.

“I think we ban Fruitland.” Barbara suggested.

“I disagree.” Hannah said. Diana and Barbara looked at Hannah surprised. “We've practised Fruitland since Akko's bullshit. We have back up plans on Fruitland, and we could even try what the green team did if we want to.”

“Fruitland changes the game on a fundamental level.” Diana replied calmly. “We can't ignore the map changes like we could on Rastavan.”

“So we won't do something stupid.” Hannah retorted. “The Sorcerer's Stone makes you think you can win fights you can't. It's too similar to every other map in how it makes you feel. Fruitland is different enough that we won't be caught out.” Diana regarded Hannah for the longest few seconds of her life. She was ready to be told she was being stupid.

“Very well.” Diana said instead, as she turned back to the screen, and sent the message saying they banned Rastavan Ruins. They sat in contemplative silence for a minute, while they waited for the first map pick from Appleton. Hannah found the moment kind of awkward, but she wasn't about to be the one to break the silence. With each passing second however it got worse. What was taking Appleton so long? Did they not expect that ban?

“Arcturus Forest is first.” Diana announced finally. They had the choice between Polaris and Fruitland for the second map. Hannah chewed her lip, thinking. “We'll pick Polaris.” Diana announced, cutting off any further thought Hannah could give it. It made sense, she supposed. If they did well, they could avoid Fruitland entirely, and it would be as if it was banned.

“Yes Diana.” Hannah replied. Barbara mimicked her, a second out of sync this time. There was another short wait, and then the invite to the game appeared. They went through the usual steps to get ready for the game, and soon they were loading into hero selection. They'd decided they weren't going to use any of their regular picks that had appeared in this tournament already. No Gravity Queen, no Dancing Duellist, no Rapture Ranger. Thankfully, they'd been conservative, and stuck to the same line up until it failed them, and thus far it hadn't.

“I think I'll pick Ancient Witch.” Diana announced. “For our first pick, and then we can base your picks on what they do.”

“Okay.” Hannah agreed. Diana locked in Ancient Witch quickly. There was a short delay, and then the Appleton first pick appeared. Grenadier.

“What do you want Barbara?” Diana asked.

“Maybe...Lightwarden?” Barbara replied.

“That sounds good to me.” Diana agreed, locking it in. Then it was Appleton's turn to pick. They quickly locked in Exalted Equestrian and Fallen Angel. Which left Hannah to pick. She deliberated for a moment.

“Empress please.” Hannah announced. Diana locked it in, and they were left time to pick out their runes and skins. Hannah already had her Empress page prepared, which just left her the skins to pick. She settled on Celestial Princess Empress. It was an adorable magical girl skin, one Hannah actually owned on her normal account. She wanted to try out the ones she didn't have, but this skin was simply too good to avoid. Eventually, the set up screen passed, and the game began to load in. Hannah took a deep breath, and tried to steady herself. They had this game in the bag. Appleton was a bunch of chumps.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

Diana was surprised she hadn't seen much Grenadier before. She was generally regarded as a bad hero, for her long attack animation, and large cooldowns. Seeing how Andrew played her however, Diana had her doubts. He leaned heavily into her strengths, exploiting the splash damage on her attacks from her passive to chip at her health while technically only attacking minions. He was largely conservative with her abilities, holding them mostly to enable a disengage if Diana tried to get aggressive.

That suited her just fine. She played to her strengths as well, building her defences in the lane, before slowly creeping them forward, consuming more and more territory. After a few minutes of vying back and forth, and carefully studying each other's techniques, Diana managed to catch Andrew with one of her more aggressively placed traps. She followed up with her W, locking Andrew in place longer as she laid into him. Andrew remained calm however, simply throwing down his E, and exchanging blows while waiting for the root to expire. Once it did, he activated his E, detonating the explosives at his feet, and sending Grenadier sailing back to the tower and safety.

Diana took that exchange in stride, and continued to lane, taking advantage of the reprieve while Andrew returned to the base to heal up. She managed to shove the lane out, and get a bit of tower damage before he returned, and she had to pull back. His cooldowns would be up again, and Diana didn't want to give him the chance to initiate on his terms.

“How are you doing in your lane?” Diana asked.

“Good.” Hannah replied. She sounded tense.

“They're putting a lot of pressure on, but we're managing.” Barbara elaborated.

“Okay. If you need help, let me know.” Diana offered. It wasn't much of an offer, she knew. Ancient Witch wasn't much of a ganker. But perhaps she could pressure out a mistake with a rotation. It was unlikely however. Her role in this game was to apply pressure on her lane, and force them to try and deal with her. Make space for Hannah to get farmed on Empress, and carry them through the fights.

So Diana switched up her aggression. She figured she had a good read on Andrew by now, and she intended to abuse it. She moved forward more often now, and threw her Q at him, before pulling back to the trees to regenerate her mana. After the second time, she took the chance to set up a few more trees there, in case Andrew got aggressive in response. For a short while, Andrew just took the abuse. Through level four he did nothing. Then he hit level five, and his demeanour changed sharply. He opened up with his Q, throwing a set of three AOE attacks at where Diana was standing. They took down her trees, as well as chunking her for some damage. She didn't have a second to respond before Andrew was jumping forward with his E, landing on top of Diana.

He'd had a chance to shop before her, and the raw AD advantage was firmly on his side. Diana wouldn't win a straight up fight. So she started pulling back, stutter-stepping back towards her other safety trees. Andrew was ready for that it seemed, as he fired off his W in response. Typically, Grenadier's W was regarded as her worst ability. It was a short range AOE stun, hitting all units in a small ring around her. A ring which Andrew had perfectly placed her in. The stun duration was long, and by the time it wore off, Diana was nearly dead. Without much else to do, she turned and fought.

 

**Hanbridge has slain White Witch for First Blood**

 

Diana frowned. That was unexpected. But she made a mental note of what went wrong, and stashed it away for later. It wouldn't happen again.

 

**\---URSULA---**

 

Ursula cringed slightly as she watched Diana die to Andrew for the fourth time. To her credit, it was never the same death. With every kill, she adjusted her approach, and avoided exposing herself to the same initiation. But every time she did, Andrew brought out something new. Ursula was genuinely impressed by how many unique ways he had to exploit Grenadier's kit. Finally, after fifteen minutes of the laning phase being drawn out, Andrew started repeating his initiations. Diana was prepared for them, but the power difference was too much now, she couldn't do anything about it really.

Barbara and Hannah were faring much better thankfully. They weren't stomping their lane, but they were definitely winning it. With luck, they could turn that into a chance to shut down Andrew, and spin the game back. Of everyone in the team, Ursula was most confident that Diana could come back from a scenario like this one. Part of Ursula wondered if it was worth the effort however. Diana was in deep. It'd be a gruelling climb back into the game, and there was no guarantee they'd win for their effort. If it was Ursula, she'd be considering throwing in the towel, and having a clean start. Sometimes that was simply the best thing you could do.

It seemed as if Diana was coming to the same conclusion, as after her sixth death of the game, she headed for the bottom lane instead. It was an obvious ploy, but a smart one. They were going to group up as three, and shove out the bottom lane. The dream was to coax Andrew into a fight with their more powerful heroes, and try to out-play him from there to secure a kill. By pooling all of their characters, the individual weakness of any one hero, such as Ancient Witch, wouldn't be so pronounced.

Things started off well. Diana entered the lane with what appeared to be a fairly passive move, setting a trap on a tree. It quickly turned offensive however, as she then hurled the tree at Louis on Exalted Equestrian. On that queue, the whole Blue team went in hard, hammering Louis with everything they had. It wasn't the quickest, nor the cleanest kill, as Louis was able to get a not insignificant amount of health from Hannah in return. Fallen Angel's healing kept him alive long enough to pose a potential threat. But he did go down, and Frank retreated behind the tower.

Andrew was taking the bait too, and heading down through the jungle. He positioned himself behind the blue team, and threw down his E onto the ground. He stepped forward, standing so it would send him over the wall, but didn't detonate it. Ursula frowned, trying to put together what she was seeing. The E would only last a short while, before detonating on it's own, so he couldn't be waiting for Louis to return, or anything like that. But what could he be waiting for?

She got her answer as the timer on the bomb hit 1 second. Andrew activated his ult. Grenadier's ultimate rapidly fired off explosive attacks in a cone in front of her. It was a channelled ability, leaving Grenadier unable to do anything else while the attack was in effect. From where he was, his ultimate hit all of them. But only just. If they moved deeper under the tower they could escape it's range. Which is what they did. Unfortunately, Andrew was clearly anticipating this. They were on the cusp of moving out of range when his E timed out, and detonated. The explosion sent Grenadier flying over the wall, but didn't interrupt the channel. His ultimate continued to rain down on them.

The blue team was effectively trapped now. The fastest way out of Andrew's ultimate was to go further down the lane, towards the second tower and Frank. They could try and run back, but they'd be weak, and Andrew could easily pick them off. Advancing on Andrew was suicide, and with his new position, the ultimate extended all the way to the wall of the lane, preventing them from pulling away and waiting it out.

Diana made the first move, advancing on Frank. She even threw down her ultimate ahead of her, effectively denying him the chance to attack them. Barbara was right behind her, but Hannah was doomed. She couldn't even make it to the nearest edge of the ultimate. So instead she simply took a final last hit.

 

**Hanbridge has slain Favor**

 

Diana was clear of the ultimate. She now simply had to make it past the tower, and she'd be fine. Ironically, the ultimate she'd thrown down was now impeding her own progress, requiring her to path through the trees. The delay was enough that the final hit from the tower killed her as she walked out of range.

 

**Hanbridge has slain White Witch**

 

Ursula sighed. This game was over. Oh well, sometimes it happened like this. They could turn it around in the next match, that wasn't an impractical hope. Despite being so thoroughly out-classed, the blue team didn't surrender however. Their hearts clearly weren't in it, and they picked fights with only the most basic of approaches, but they stuck out the game to the end. At first, Ursula wasn't too sure why, but eventually it clicked. They never picked fights that Andrew wasn't in. And they were always trying to pick a fight in a way that was new for Andrew specifically.

Once Ursula clued in, she started paying extra close attention to taking notes on Andrew. She found...a lot actually. The girls were essentially nudging him to show his whole hand in this one game, and it was working. By the time they'd lost, Ursula felt like she understood Andrew's play style perfectly.

“That was really good girls.” Ursula said as she walked into their booth. “I can't believe you got Andrew to show you so much of his style. Do you have a plan for the next game?” Diana looked up and smiled.

“Yes, actually.” She replied.

“Well, what is it?” Ursula asked.

“I'm going to play Andrew's Grenadier.” Diana answered calmly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed that! My schedule is fixing up, which has been a mildly bumpy ride, but I'm close to stable with it, which means there should be more consistent writing in the future. Hopefully. Don't trust me when I say things like that. If you did enjoy it though, please do leave a comment as it brightens my week and pushes me to write the next one sooner to get more of that sweet sweet validation.


	35. Chapter Thirty-two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For once not a lot to say here other than "Why did I promise to be done with Edinburgh by chapter 40 this is so stressful aaaahh"
> 
> Hope you all enjoy! Don't forget to leave a comment etc.

**\---AKKO---**

 

Akko didn't get why Diana had picked Grenadier. She'd never played Grenadier before, as far as Akko knew. It wasn't anything they'd planned either. The rest of the picks were what they'd established, Lightwarden and Empress again. Appleton had switched it up too, with Andrew playing Rapture Ranger, Louis on Dancing Duellist, and Frank on Loyal Defender. Ursula however, didn't seem the least bit surprised by the pick.

“Hey coach.” Akko said. “Why is Diana playing Grenadier?”

“She thinks it will be something that catches Andrew off guard.” Ursula replied. Akko nodded. She was still a bit mystified.

“But she's never played Grenadier before!” Akko protested.

“Diana is very talented at picking up new heroes after watching someone else play them.” Ursula replied. “That's one of the reasons she was accepted to Luna Nova.”

“She doesn't show it when she tries to play Moonlit Witch.” Amanda remarked.

“Well, yes, she does seem to struggle with Moonlit Witch, but everyone has a hero they can't work out.” Ursula replied hesitantly.

“When has Diana played Moonlit Witch?” Akko asked. She didn't remember it.

“Mostly in private games she thinks no one is looking at.” Amanda answered. “She doesn't realise she's left her spectator settings on friends only though.”

“You...probably shouldn't tell her you've seen her playing Moonlit Witch.” Ursula cautioned.

“Oh please. If I told her, she'd change her settings, and I wouldn't get to see that trainwreck again.” Amanda said. Ursula frowned slightly, but didn't reply. Akko turned her attention to the game. The conversation had been a good way to fill in the time spent waiting for minions to arrive in lane, but now the action was starting. The first few minutes passed in a surreal blur for Akko.

“Okay Arty, can we send someone down to check that's actually White Witch in the Luna Nova booth, and that Hanbridge didn't just swap teams in the break?” Tasteless asked.

“I can see the booths, and yes, that's still White Witch playing.” Artosis replied. “But you're right, this is insane. We've seen people do this occasionally, where they'll download their opponent's playstyle, and bring it as a counter in the next game, but it's never been this perfect before.”

Tastosis was right, Akko thought. Diana was playing just like she was Andrew. Even the way she paced in lane was the same distance as Andrew. She harassed just like him, keeping the same cautiously defensive stance he took up early on in the first match. There was a menace to it that Akko hadn't felt the first time. Like the building inevitability that Diana would go in the moment Andrew let her. And then she hit level five.

Diana went in hard. She used exactly the same technique for engaging the fight, and it worked just as well when she did it as when Andrew did it. He didn't even stand a chance. She simply steam-rolled over him. Unlike Andrew however, Diana didn't stay in lane to keep farming. She immediately slid out of her lane, and into the jungle that filled the centre of Polaris. She crossed the jungle quickly, and arrived on the low ground beside the other lane.

As she approached, Hannah and Barbara fell back, feigning weakness. Louis took the bait, advancing aggressively. As soon as he was forward, Diana threw down her E, and threw herself into the fight. Caught between the entire blue team, Louis went down quickly, though Frank managed to escape.

“Why didn't Andrew do that in their last game?” Amanda asked.

“He's not very good.” Akko replied.

“He beat Diana last game.” Amanda retorted.

“Well, yeah, but he was playing a weird hero.” Akko replied defensively. “His plays in general aren't great though.” The conversation fell away, and they returned to watching the game in relative silence. The game followed a similar path to the last. Diana got aggressively ahead, though Hannah and Barbara started to struggle. Dancing Duellist was easily Louis' best character, and it showed. He started to pull ahead in the lane, and secured the occasional kill. By the ten minute mark, the scores were fairly even, and both teams had taken a tower. The blue team made a move to switch things up, and headed for the centre of the map. They hadn't even arrived at the fountain before Appleton seemed to have worked out what was going on, as they followed suit, and also headed for the centre.

Luna Nova arrived first, and quickly spread out into a typical defensive formation for taking fountain. Diana took up her position on the high ground, while Barbara and Hannah both moved down to the low ground on the Appleton side, ready to run interference, and prevent anyone from getting close enough. Diana had only just begun the channel when Appleton arrived. They threw themselves into the fight with reckless abandon. They had no clue how close to finished Diana was, and they knew full well they'd have to prevent her from completing the channel if they stood a chance in the game.

Louis dashed forward with his E, and began to fight Hannah, while Frank moved to square off against Barbara's Lightwarden. Andrew meanwhile pushed to move through the two. Barbara was quickly stunned, while Hannah was quite effectively body blocked by Louis, preventing her from trying to engage on Andrew. He fired off his W onto the fountain. The rain of arrows hit Diana, interrupting the channel.

Akko frowned slightly. This wasn't ideal. Appleton's engage was really strong, and Akko didn't know if they could actually pull it back here. In a 1v1, Diana could beat Andrew, but Louis was going to beat Hannah, and Frank could probably kill Barbara if it played out long enough. To Akko's surprise however, Diana completely ignored Andrew. Instead she fired her Q to land on Hannah, and in effect hit Louis as well.

Andrew followed Diana's lead, turning his attention to Hannah, and the two teams raced to knock out each other's melee carry. Appleton won the race, but Louis was low as Hannah fell. He started falling back, even going so far as to blink away with a flash powder. Diana moved to chase him, throwing down her E to get ahead. Andrew cut her off, body blocking her from advancing, and the moment was lost, Louis was going to get away.

Then Barbara activated her ult. It was perfectly positioned, one edge landing right in front of Louis, the other just barely catching Diana. They couldn't keep fighting, but Barbara could recover from her fight with Frank, and Diana could get into position. Unfortunately Louis had a potion too, which he immediately activated, and began to heal up.

“Well, this game's over.” Amanda declared. “They're absolutely fucked now.” Despite her hopes to the contrary, Akko couldn't help but agree. Diana's E was on cooldown now as well, though it's timer was going to go off around the same time the ultimate ended it wasn't really in Diana's control anymore, rendering it useless. Predictably, Appleton closed in on Diana, moving to surround her. She tried to move to a slightly more advantageous position, sitting on the edge of her E. It'd at least knock her clear of being trapped in the middle of Appleton, but it probably wouldn't be enough as Lightwarden's ultimate reached it's end.

As it did, Diana activated her ultimate. She was only pointing it at Louis at first, but then her E detonated, sending her flying backwards. From her new position, the ultimate caught the whole team. Any stacks of armour Frank had built in the fighting had been lost during the time out, and he dropped quickly. Andrew dropped just as quickly, the lack of any serious defences making him an easy target. Louis however escaped on barely any health, and moved to escape once more. Diana cancelled her ultimate, and activated her Q.

 

**White Witch has slain Blackwell**

**ACE**

 

Akko jumped out of her seat cheering.

 

**\---DIANA---**

 

The game snowballed off the fight over the fountain, and they soon had it won. Grenadier was a more interesting character to play than Diana had originally given her credit for. She made a note to play more of her in the future. Not next game however. Next game they were bringing their best. For their first pick, she locked in Gravity Queen to keep them flexible. It wasn't even worth a discussion. Appleton's first pick was revealed a moment later. They'd gone for Dancing Duellist again.

“Barbara, would you mind taking Gravity Queen?” Diana asked.

“You've got more experience with Gravity Queen on this map don't you?” Barbara replied. Diana could tell it was a genuine question.

“I do, yes. If you'd rather I can take her.” Diana offered.

“I can manage if you have something in mind.” Barbara replied.

“Let's pick for Hannah, and see what they go for.” Diana suggested.

“Rapture.” Hannah pitched in quickly. That made sense, Hannah had gotten very good with Rapture recently. Diana locked it in, and waited for the Appleton picks. They took a bit to think, before locking in Grenadier and Titanium Maiden. Diana frowned. Gravity Queen wouldn't do particularly well against Grenadier. But against such a potentially dangerous line up, Hannah would want a more defensive support than Gravity Queen could off.

“I'll take Gravity Queen.” Diana announced. “It'll be easier for me to adjust than for you two. Barbara, what support would you like?”

“Fallen Angel please.” Barbara replied. Diana nodded, and locked it in.

“I'm counting on you girls. Just farm up. I'll come and gank when I can, or help you secure a lemon for Hannah.” Diana said.

“Yes Diana!” The girls chorused. Diana smiled slightly. They could do this. Andrew wasn't particularly good. Diana could overcome the disadvantage and win the lane. The game began soon, and Diana headed out to lane. She was honestly a little surprised to see Andrew there. In all of the planning they'd seriously entertained the possibility that Appleton would try and cheese out an easy win. Sadly they appeared to be playing a normal game.

The lane was tricky, but not impossible. Diana was forced to play incredibly passive, hiding behind even her ranged minions, and only roaming forward to toss a rock at a minion to secure the last hit. One time Andrew tried to throw his Q at her. Diana was quick however, and she managed to step out of the way of two of the attacks, and catch the third with her own Q, throwing it back at a minion for an easy two last hits. Andrew didn't attempt it again.

Despite all of Diana's caution however, she did take the occasional auto attack, and she simply couldn't get every last hit the way Andrew could. The match up was simply too imbalanced for Diana to really stand a chance. The best she could do was mitigate the lead Andrew could take, and hope to pull it back later.

“How are you doing?” Diana asked, as she hit level 4.

“We're doing good.” Hannah replied. “It's pretty even.”

“I see. I'm falling behind a little.” Diana offered. “If you secure a kill, we should clear out a lemon or two to catch me up.”

“We'll do our best!” Barbara said.

“That's all I can ask.” Diana replied. It would be enough, she was sure.

 

**\---URSULA---**

 

It was an unfortunate match up that the blue team found themselves in. They didn't realise it yet, but they weren't likely to win this match. Gravity Queen was anti-synergistic in this game, effectively working against the team more than working for them. Her ultimate would encourage them all to group up into a small area, allowing Titanium Maiden to lock them in for Duellist and Grenadier to ultimate the whole team together, and wipe them out. It was, as an old friend would say, a team without Falco.

The laning phase went fine, as expected. No one got up to any funny business, and eventually the lanes dissolved, as Appleton grouped up, and pushed the bottom lane as a team. Diana moved down to help, and for a moment the blue team seemed to be doing fine. Then they stood too close together. Frank threw down his ultimate, pinning them in place. The others activated their ults too, and the blue team was shredded.

“Wombo combo.” Amanda muttered.

“Wow. How do they beat that?” Akko asked. Ursula sighed.

“They don't really.” She answered. There was some hope of course. Fallen Angel and Gravity Queen could both escape from the ring, but with Hannah being decimated each time, and then the awkwardness of Diana having to go in on someone to escape, it simply wasn't likely to work out. Not as often as Appleton's combo would anyway.

“That's not fair!” Akko protested.

“They got last pick.” Amanda replied. “They should've counter-picked.” Ursula silently agreed. She understood why Diana took Gravity Queen. Teams built around ultimate synergy were rare, and from a comfort position, this made sense. Unfortunately what they'd needed was a Grenadier counter-pick from Diana, to shut down one piece of the combo, and prevent it ever doing enough damage.

As Ursula predicted, Diana's escape attempts were rarely useful. They had three more fights, each one from further behind for the blue team, and each one ending even more decisively in the favour of Appleton. As Appleton advanced on the base to take their first barracks, Diana typed GG in chat, and the game came to a premature end. Ursula sighed. She didn't blame them.

“Well that sucked.” Amanda remarked.

“Yes it did. Which means starting now, we'll be getting you ready to fight Appleton.” Ursula replied.

“Wait, what? I was gonna go fuck around and have some more fun!” Amanda protested.

“You can have fun after your match tomorrow. Today, and tonight, you prepare.” Ursula replied. Amanda groaned.

“Fine.”

 

**\---BARBARA---**

 

Walking out of the booth after their defeat was the worst feeling Barbara had experienced in years. Losing the game had felt like shit, but she'd lost games before. The weight of the loss didn't really sink in. But as she walked out of the booth, and found nothing waiting for her, the reality dawned on her. There was no interview waiting. There wasn't anyone waiting. They were just there, left to their own devices for the rest of the day. That was it. That was how their tournament ended.

“Diana!” Akko's wailing voice pierced the mood, as she came running over, and crashed into Diana with a hug. Barbara recoiled a step back from her. “Are you okay?” Akko asked, pulling back. Diana pointedly looked away from everyone. Barbara shared a quick look with Hannah, and they both smirked. She was such a useless lesbian.

“Yes, Akko. I'm fine. It was just a game.” Diana replied. Akko scowled at this.

“It's not just a game!” She snapped. She glared at Diana for a moment, clearly fuming, before stomping off. Diana just stared after her.

“I think you made her mad.” Hannah teased.

“It would seem so.” Diana agreed.

“Are you gonna go make it better then?” Barbara asked.

“I imagine Akko would only be angrier if I tried to approach her now.” Diana replied. Hannah and Barbara sighed.

“Honestly, you are the most useless lesbian.” Hannah said.

“Go after her and apologise.” Barbara added. Diana hesitated a moment, before sighing.

“You're right. Thank you girls.” She said, before striding off.

“So, now what do we do?” Hannah asked. Barbara knew exactly what she wanted to do. But she couldn't exactly bring Hannah along with her for it.

“I was thinking of giving the VR section another look.” Barbara began. “But I understand if you're not interested.” Hannah hesitated for a minute.

“Not really. But I don't mind going with you.” She replied.

“Don't worry about it! It's fine! I can go alone.” Barbara insisted. Hannah hesitated again, before nodding.

“Alright. I'm gonna go find Ursula and see what's going on.” She said. Barbara nodded.

“Sounds good!” She said. They parted ways quickly, and Barbara headed for the VR section. She arrived shortly, and weaved through the stalls with purpose, heading for the Nightfall stand. Finally she found it. It was pretty empty, which was perfect.

“Hi! I'd like to try the ballroom experience!” Barbara declared, stepping up to the lady at the counter. The woman smiled and nodded.

“Sure thing, we can get you set up while we wait for your partner.” She replied. Barbara's heart skipped a beat.

“Partner?” She asked.

“Right, it's a two person experience. One of you is Belle, and the other is Edgar.” She explained. Barbara's heart fell.

“Oh...I don't have a partner...” She said softly. The woman gave her an apologetic look.

“Sorry. It's not a particularly popular experience, so we don't have many people coming to try it. If you want, you could do some of the other ones, and if someone shows up looking to dance as well, I can put you in together.” She offered. Barbara nodded. It was a good offer. Any other day she'd be excited. But following the disappointment of not getting to do the ball, she couldn't muster the energy. It was her favourite scene ever.

“That sounds good, thank you.” She replied. The woman led Barbara over to one of the headsets, and took a moment to get her set up. Barbara found herself standing in a featureless plain, with a list of options floating in front of her. She lifted the controls, clicked one, and watched as the scene began in front of her.

 

The rain beat down on the cliffs around Barbara, and the wind howled in her ears. She couldn't feel either of them, though a quick glance around revealed that she was standing in the entryway of a lighthouse. That was a clever trick to dodge the rain problem. She turned her gaze forward, to the two men in front of her. Edgar and Arthur stood on the edge of the cliff, swords in hand, facing each other down. Arthur shouted into the wind, but his words were lost in the downpour. Then Edgar advanced and swung his sword, beginning the fight.

This scene was from volume 17, very early in the series, and represented the culmination of three volumes of tension. It was, of course, a total fake out. The fight was entirely staged to lure out the evil vampire slayer who was gunning for Edgar, allowing Arthur to finish him off. However the reader didn't know that at the time. In the books the fight was marvelously described, but a little hard to follow. Seeing it play out in VR however was a true delight. Barbara's despair at missing out on the ballroom was driven away as she watched them dance and fight across the cliffs. Finally, Arthur struck the final blow, stabbing Edgar, who collapsed to the ground.

“Excuse me, miss?” The woman's voice pierced the scene. “There's a lady about your age looking for a partner for the dance. Would you be opposed to dancing with her?”

“No, that's fine.” Barbara replied, pausing the scene. “Does one of us have to be Edgar?”

“Yes, but you could go twice, and swap if you like.” The woman suggested.

“Alright, let's do that.” Barbara agreed.

“Okay, just give me a minute to get her set up. You just wait there.” The woman replied. Barbara exited the scene, and settled in to wait. She stood for a minute, before she felt the presence of someone in front of her. The woman guided Barbara's hands into place, before guiding the other girl's hands to hers. They were about the same height, Barbara concluded. She wondered how that would resolve itself in the scene.

“Alright, so you don't have a lot of room, so mostly you should just sway, but you can dance a little bit. The crowds will give you a rough idea of where to stop.” The woman explained. “We can start whenever you're ready.” Barbara nodded in response. “Alright, have fun!”

The misty darkness that was the waiting area faded away, and was replaced by a brightly lit ballroom. Standing in front of her was a perfect recreation of Belle. Barbara's breath caught for a second at how beautiful she was. She also noticed that her view was significantly higher than she was used to, and Belle was absolutely a little shorter than her. She took the lead, starting to sway, dragging Belle with her in a gentle, swaying spin. Opposite her, Belle followed her lead. It was perfect. Then the dialogue started. Despite herself, Barbara found herself mouthing the lines alongside Edgar. From the soft whispers she could hear from her partner, she clearly wasn't the only one. The dance lasted a few minutes. Once it was done, Barbara's world returned to the misty darkness once more.

“Would you like to swap, and go again?” The woman asked. Barbara nodded again. “And you?”

“I don't mind.” A vaguely familiar voice replied. Barbara frowned slightly. She was still kind of out of it from the dance, and despite her best effort, she couldn't place the voice, even though she knew she should be able to. It definitely wasn't Hannah or Diana at least. Oh god what if it was Amanda? No, it was too soft to be Amanda.

Barbara's train of thought was interrupted as the ballroom reformed, and this time she found herself looking up at Edgar. He was gorgeous. To Barbara's surprise, she wasn't nearly as excited as when she saw Belle across from her. This time her partner led the way, pulling her into an actual, loose waltz. It was by no means refined, though Barbara wasn't surprised. She couldn't exactly expect a random person to know how to waltz like she did. Despite the sloppiness, the dance was nice, and Barbara found herself lost in the feeling, like she was flying across the dance floor. Occasionally they got close to the edge, but mostly they just danced in a small circle.

Eventually the dance ended. Barbara hesitated as she debated if she wanted to know who she'd just danced with. Eventually she gave in however, and pulled the goggles off. Standing in front of her was Lotte, wearing slightly odd looking glasses. Clearly they'd been modified to be able to be worn with VR.

“Uh, hi.” Barbara said awkwardly.

“Hello, I didn't realise you liked Nightfall!” Lotte said, a grin forming on her head. Barbara froze. Shit. Fuck. Shit.

“I don't.” She lied quickly. “I was just checking it out to see what this stupid thing was all about.” Lotte looked at her skeptically.

“But...I heard you whispering along to every line.” She protested. This was it. This was how Barbara died. Lotte would mention this to Akko, who would blurt it out to someone, and Hannah would find out, and she'd be teased forever, or worse, Hannah would abandon her entirely.

“Okay, fine, I like it.” Barbara replied. “But please don't tell anyone! Hannah wouldn't be friends with me any more if she knew!” Lotte's face got very serious, and she took Barbara's hands in her own.

“Your secret is safe with me.” She said firmly. “I'll take it to the grave!” Barbara let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you.” She said softly. Lotte smiled.

“It's okay. I know what it's like to be teased about liking Nightfall.” She replied. Barbara smiled.

“Maybe...we can talk about it sometime in the future? Nightfall, I mean.” She suggested. Lotte's face lit up.

“That sounds great!”

“Cool. But uh, later, I've gotta get back to make sure Hannah doesn't come looking for me.” Barbara explained, before turning, and heading off. It was a weak excuse, but she didn't want to deal with the intensity of Lotte's gaze any longer. Nor the memory of how good it had felt dancing with her.


End file.
